Half and Half
by Not Even The Turtle
Summary: What would the Hamato family life be like if only two sons were turtles? Well, it's different, to say the least. But being human or turtle doesn't change one vital fact; Brothers will always be Brothers. (half) Human AU 2012 based.
1. Yoshi Hamato

**Haha, please dont hate me for writing this little plot bunny that has been in my head for the last month instead of working on one of my current stories! Tell me if it's any good though! :)**

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Yoshi Hamato looked down at his two sons lovingly. He was proud of his boys. He knew the death of their mother could not be easy for them, but they stayed positive and happy, doing as they were told and sticking with their training. He knew from the presents they brought him, mostly bugs and flowers, that they had been trying to cheer their father up over the past month. Yoshi knew he had no time to mourn, Teng Shen would reprimand him for it. No. He had to take care of his sons. They deserved the best.

That was why he had brought them to this pet shop. Wanting to reward them for their good behavior over the past month, the Japanese man told his sons they could each have a small pet. At the moment, both of the boys were pressed up against a large aquarium tank, staring at the red-eared sliders that were resting on a floating dock near, exposing their hard bodies to the warm rays of the heating lamp above it. Yoshi was currently holding a rat that had caught his eye. The brown and white creature had seemed lonely to him, being the only rat left unsold, and now was perched upon his shoulder, reaching up and sniffing the coal black hair on his head.

"Father?" the older of the two boys suddenly called out, breaking his gaze from the tank to stare at Yoshi with his dazzling dark blue eyes.

"Yes, Leonardo?" Yoshi replied, reaching down to mess with his son's black hair. In fact, not only the color of his hair, but everything about his son was inherited from his father. He felt warm remembering how Teng Shen would always call Leonardo "A mini Yoshi".

"Can I have one of these?" the four year old boy asked, pointing at the tank. At the question, his younger son peeled himself away from the glass he was pressed against to stare at Yoshi with emerald eyes, something he had inherited from his mother along with his dark brown hair. It was obvious that Raphael had the same question the way his eyes sparkled. He watched as Leonardo and Raphael folded their hands under their chins and stared at their father, their eyes growing wider and wider. Yoshi recognized this move as his son's patented 'puppy dog eyes attack'. The single father let out a false sigh, making his sons glance nervously at each other.

"Only if you promise to take care of them." he said with a smile. Both of his boys instantly squealed, slamming themselves into their father's muscular legs that were hidden under his casual loose blue jeans. Yoshi laughed, calling for the clerk to come help them gather their new pets. The woman behind the counter a few feet away was the one who joined them, smiling brightly down at the two children.

"Alright, so which ones do you want?" asked the woman whose name tag, Yoshi read, said Deborah.

"This one!" Raphael shouted, pointing at the largest of the turtles in the tank. All of the turtles were small, the one his brunette son picked out only being three inches in length, but it was still the biggest.

"Oh! Good!" Deborah exclaimed, assembling a brown cardboard box that had handles and air holes, "That one has been here the longest, he just turned a year old sometime last month." The blonde woman reached barehanded into the tank and pulled out the turtle out, avoiding the clawed toes as the terrapin kicked the air in an attempt to escape. She carefully set it into the box, laughing at Raphael as he bounced up and down in excitement.

"My turtle is stwong!" the boy said proudly, "He bigger dan all dah rest!" Yoshi nodded with a smile, it was just like his youngest to want the strongest looking animal. It was not uncommon for his son to outmuscle the other children at the dojo Yoshi ran, or for his hotheaded son to get angry and defeat even some of the older children during sparring sessions. He could quite easily say that his son was obsessed with power, or at least, being stronger than the next strongest person.

Yoshi turned to his eldest son, who was carefully surveying the tank once more. Slowly, Leonardo raised a finger and pointed at the smallest and brightest colored turtle in the tank.

"That one, the small one." he said to Deborah. Yoshi chuckled at this as well. Leonardo was always watching out for the little ones at the dojo, showing them the correct posture for their kata or bandaging up sprained ankles or other injuries caused by Raphael when they occurred.

"Ah, that little guy?" Deborah asked, pointing at the small turtle and picking it up when the black haired boy nodded. "He's the last of our hatchlings that were incubated in this very store!" the woman explained, "They were hatched last week, on August 8th. The little ones go fast, you were lucky to get one!" Leonardo grinned at the comment, obviously feeling as if he'd chosen the most special turtle. Deborah let Leonardo tap the turtle on the head, watching it retract into its shell instantly and giggling with amusement before packing it away.

Yoshi thanked the woman as she secured the box together and headed for the cash register. She rang them up and smiled at the excited boys as she handed the box carrying the turtles to their father.

"Don't forget to come back and tell me what you named them!" she said as Yoshi handed Deborah the rat that had moved from his shoulder to the top of his head. She took the rodent hurriedly, "Ah, sorry, it seems like Splinter here likes you!" she jumped and almost dropped the rodent as it squeaked and wriggled violently in her hands. Deborah seemed to pause for a moment, her mahogany eyes glinting with mischief. "You know... I've been trying to sell Splinter here for ages, with no dice. He gets all flustered when someone tries to pick him up. Why don't you take him?"

"Oh, no, miss." Yoshi exclaimed, "We have spent enough money as it is, and-"

"Free of charge, buddy!" Deborah interrupted, thrusting the rat out. Splinter immediately reached out and latched onto Yoshi's white button up shirt, squirming out of Deborah's hands and racing up his chest to sit on Yoshi's wide shoulder. Yoshi could only laugh. The rat had seemed to take a liking to him, and if his sons could enjoy the company of a pet, why couldn't he?

"Alright, then." Yoshi said, bowing slightly to the woman behind the counter, his sons imitating the motion, "We thank you for your graciousness." With that, Deborah saw them to the door, happily telling them what they needed to take care of their new pets and to come back when they had money to buy some proper housing for them. Carrying the box in one hand, rat on one shoulder, and holding Raphael's hand in the other, the three family members made their way out to the streets.

Their apartment was quite a few blocks down, and it was an overcast day, but this did not hamper Yoshi's good mood as he listened quietly to his two boy's excited talks of turtle racing and swimming competitions, zoning out only to think of what he needed to accommodate their new housemates.

Yoshi and company had just crossed their eighth crosswalk when he noticed three suspicious men carrying a small black box into a dark alley. Yoshi will not be able to figure out what it was for years to come, but something felt off about the three unnervingly identical men. He looked down at his sons, releasing Raphael's hand and signaling with two fingers for them to remain quiet. His boys nodded, knowing exactly what their father meant.

He looked around, finding that the area around them was completely emptied of people, which was what he would expect. They had been taking a quiet, mostly secluded way back to their home through the backstreets of New York City. Yoshi motioned his sons towards a brick wall that was shrouded in shadows. Leonardo and Raphael silently stalked over to it, hiding themselves in the darkness as they watched their father near the alley, not realizing he still had a rat on his shoulder and a box of turtles in one hand.

Rounding the corner into the dark alley, Yoshi was surprised to see one of the men had completely lifted a heavy manhole cover and was holding it above his head as another man had opened the black box and removed a glowing canister from it, twisting off its cap and moving to pour whatever the blue glowing chemical was down into the sewers below. The third man holding a weapon Yoshi had not spotted before was the one who had noticed the spying man.

"That which is known as a human must stop doing what is called hiding." The man said in a monotone voice, pointing his weapon in the direction of the shadow Yoshi was currently hiding in. Realizing the man was asking for a surrender, Yoshi leapt from the shadows, taking the steely faced man by surprise and slapping away the weapon. At this point Yoshi realized he was carrying the box with the turtles in it and tossed it gently to the side, hoping the turtles would not be rattled to much. He used his now free hand to punch the man in the side, gasping in pain at the metallic hardness that met his fist. The man seemed unfazed and threw a punch back at Yoshi, who leapt to the side and used his legs to barrel himself into the one holding the manhole cover. Instantly the man fell over from the force, dropping the heavy metal circle on top of himself. When the man fell the manhole cover pinnicrushing his right leg. Yoshi found it unnerving that the man did not scream out in pain, that there was no blood, and that sparks seemed to be coming from the man's crushed limb.

With one man incapacitated, Yoshi turned to the one with the glowing canister, only to realize that he was gone.

"NO! Let go ah Leo!" Came the bone chilling scream behind him. Yoshi whipped around to see Raphael kicking and screaming while dangling from one man's firm grasp around his tiny wrist. The other man had Leonardo by the throat, moving to pour the chemicals he had in one hand onto his son.

"Get away from my SONS!" Yoshi yelled in his Japanese accent as he lunged at the men, tapping into his taijutsu skills and quickly breaking the arm that was holding his son at the elbow. The arm sparked, just like the other man's leg, and Yoshi's eldest son was released. Pushing the man back with as much force as he could muster up, Yoshi swooped down and gathered his gasping son into his arms and kicked the man holding the younger son in the face. Raphael was quickly released, and Yoshi shoved Leonardo towards him.

"Take your brother and hide!" The father of two demanded his sons. Raphael took ahold of his brother, shaking fiercely but nodding at his father's firm order.

"Sensei!" Raphael said shrilly before he moved towards the shadows, "Turdles!" Yoshi nodded subconsciously as he turned to face the men behind him, who had gathered themselves and were advancing. The Japanese man avoided a skull crushing punch that landed into the brick behind him, leaving a deep imprint of a fist in the building's side. Ducking low, Yoshi tumbled over to the overturned box laying to the side, grunting in frustration at seeing it opened, it's occupants crawling away from it.

"Father!" a panicked voice screamed from behind. Yoshi turned only a fraction of a second late. Glowing blue ooze was suddenly covering him along with the turtles beside him and the rat on his shoulder. The chemicals burned through his clothing and scorched his skin. Yoshi let out an agonized cry as his flesh felt like it was melting away from his bones.

"Kraang must use this moment to escape. The plan which is the plan Kraang has come to this place to complete in this place is now compromised." One of the men said robotically to the other, who nodded and gathered up their remaining triplet and rushed out of the area, their disappearance as mysterious as their entrance.

Yoshi screamed as his joints buckled under him, laying on his side and huffing harshly. Leonardo and Raphael rushed up beside him, both of them crying and calling out in terror to their incapacitated father. Yoshi looked up at them, raising his hands in front of him to motion them to stay back. He didn't want any of the chemicals to get onto his boys, even if it had seemed to soak into his skin already. Once he held up his hands, he gasped at the condition they were in. His fingers seemed to be elongating, burning as if on fire as they did so, and Yoshi could see long, dark brown hairs growing from the back of his hands. He clenched his teeth as pain shot through his spine, down to his sciatic nerve. He turned his head in pain as the nerves in his neck spasmed, just in time to see the turtles that had been splashed by the chemicals begin to grow rapidly, their arms and legs stretching and turning into human-like appendages, though they retained their terrapin form. But this was not his biggest concern at the moment.

"Sen...sei?" Leonardo asked, stepping away from Yoshi with a terrified expression. Raphael grabbed onto Leonardo's shirt, moving to hide behind his big brother and trembling terribly. At first, Yoshi assumed his sons were afraid of him, for he could tell his appearance was changing by the way his face was stretching out before him. When he heard an otherworldly screech from on his shoulder though, he knew what his sons were afraid of.

The rodent that had been sitting on his shoulder suddenly sprung towards Yoshi's boys, blue goop, that had not been absorbed into the creature's skin like it had his, dripping from its sides as its lips peeled back to reveal razor sharp yellow teeth. Splinter's neck suddenly elongated, snapping its head forwards and causing Leonardo to scream and jump back, pushing his little brother away from the creature. The rat let out a long hiss, it's neck twisting around like a serpent as it neared its prey. The rat's eyes were growing, bulging out of its skull sickeningly as it clamped its jaws together, snapping at the two boys.

"No!" Yoshi managed to get out as he reached out with a clawed (well, that was new) hand and pulled on the rodent's tail, yanking the deformed creature sideways and smacking it into a wall. A sickening crack filled the air as the rat's head hit hard brick. Splinter went limp, only twitching momentarily before going still forever.

Yoshi also went limp, relief flooding through his muscles and bones as the pain that was coursing through him suddenly ceased to plague him. He lay on the cold pavement of the alley, reaching up to rub his face in exhaustion. Through his fingers he could feel coarse hair all over his face, and he could see the long snout protruding from it as well, covered in brown, black, and white hairs and... Whiskers?

"Father?" Leonardo quietly broke Yoshi's fascination with his changed form. His now brown eyes fell upon the young child, whose features were riddled with fear and uncertainty. The slight tremble in his oldest son's voice broke his heart into a thousand pieces.

What had he gotten them into?

Before Yoshi could give any comforting words to his boys, the wail of an infant filled the air. Leonardo and Raphael immediately looked to their left, at the source of the crying. Exhausted at that moment, Yoshi found himself unable to look in the direction that Raphael had suddenly run off in. The younger boy seemed to have forgotten his fear that consumed him only moments ago.

"My turdle got bigger!" he heard the younger son yelp excitedly. Instantly, Yoshi's mind flashed back to the mutated rodent that had attacked his sons only moments before. Fearing the same ravenous mutation had happened to the turtles that had been exposed to the chemicals, Yoshi managed to flip himself over, about to yell out at Raphael to stay away from the animals. What he saw stopped the words from forming.

The brunette boy had picked up one of the obviously mutated turtles. The olive green turtle that was being held was several times larger than it had previously been. It's limbs no longer resembled that of a normal red eared slider, but were shaped like a human child's would. The reptile's feet had rounded out, no longer carrying webbing or claws as it had previously, and the feet on the upper arms had turned into hands, three stubby green digits coming from each. Even its face shape had started to form in a humanistic shape, though no human nose had grown. The turtle-child was quietly observing Raphael with curious mahogany eyes that suddenly reminded Yoshi of the woman from the pet store.

Raphael was beaming at the turtle, holding at arms length, when Leonardo carefully stepped away from his father and moved towards the crying turtle that was lying on the ground. Yoshi pushed himself up, arms shaking as he did so, and observed the second mutated creature that his oldest son picked up. This turtle had formed much like the other, except for it being about half the size, and a lighter shade of lime green. Yoshi had the peculiar feeling he was looking at two young children, not mysterious mutated animals.

Leonardo hesitantly moved the infant turtle to his shoulder and patted its carapace. The crying halted abruptly, replaced by quiet sniffles and hiccups. It was a surreal, oddly peaceful moment for the Hamato family- young human children comforting and playing with infant mutated turtles in a dark alley after their father had been attacked by strange human triplets with inhuman strength and transformed into an unrecognizable beast.

That moment was shattered, though, by the blaring of a police siren nearby and red and blue light penetrating the darkness. Yoshi panicked for only a moment, realizing that someone had probably heard the skirmish and called the police. He was in no state to be seen by the local law enforcement, alongside bruised children and strange turtle babies.

"Leonardo, Raphael!" Yoshi snapped, gaining the attention of his sons instantly. He would have found it curious how his children still responded to his voice though his form was twisted beyond recognition if it were not for the situation at hand, "Come, we must flee to safety." The man mustered up the rest of his strength, looking around and spotting the only option they would have in this dead end alley, "To the sewers."

At that, Yoshi pushed his sons towards the still exposed manhole. Leonardo wearily glanced at his father, the uncertainty riddling his features. Raphael, oddly enough, seemed unfazed by their father's new appearance.

"Sensei!" his passionate son complained when Yoshi told his son to set the turtle down and grab the rungs of the ladder leading into an ink black void below, "Can't jus leave him! Have to take him too!" The youngest son squeezed his turtle close to him, making the creature reach out involuntarily and push against his captor's face to escape the grasp.

"I will bring them down after you two have made it safety below." Yoshi reassured his youngest while gently prying the turtle child from his son's clutches, "Now, go!" Raphael nodded in defeat at his father's stern and flat tone. The youngster started carefully down the ladder, Leonardo close behind, having already handed over the smaller turtle.

"Father...?" the black haired child said hesitantly, peeking just barely over the edge of the hole he had begun climbing into.

"It is still me, my son." Yoshi stated as soothingly as he could in the tight situation, "Please trust me, follow your brother." Leonardo nodded slowly, ducking down into the darkness. After his sons had descended a few feet, Yoshi adjusted his hold on the two turtles, moving the bigger one's arms around his neck so that it was latched onto him, and cradling the other in his right arm. Having seen the obvious intelligence and emotion in the two, Yoshi's instinct told him that these beings were no doubt sentient. Under no circumstances would he have left a human child alone in a back alley of New York, the same applied with these turtles.

Hearing voices behind him, Yoshi quickly worked his way down the manhole, moving the heavy cover with much effort back into place. He hurriedly moved down, finding his sons waiting for him at the base of the ladder.

"We must move my sons, it is not safe here." Yoshi told them, helping the olive turtle move into a more comfortable position in his arms.

"Are we goin home?" came Leonardo's weak voice. Yoshi gulped hard at the question. There was no way he, a giant furry beast, could carry four children, two of them mutant reptiles, into the fourth floor of an apartment building in a heavily populated area without being seen. He searched out for his son's hand in the dark, squeezing it with gentle yet firm reassurance.

"I am afraid we cannot return to our home just yet, Leonardo."

"Were will we go?"

"I don't know, but as long as you are with me, I will always find a way to protect you."

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**I just needed some relief from the writer's block, and this was the oly thing on my mind! I plan on leaving this open until I get further on in my other TMNT story, but please! Let me know if you would like to see this continued! :)**


	2. Topside Travels Part One

**Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for the reviews everyone, I appreciate it! Since I've had such a good response to the first chapter, I am putting this chapter up early! Pease let me know if you like this chapter as well!**

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"My sons, you may go to the surface tonight."

Rounded, almond shaped mahogany eyes fell on giant, circular crystal blue ones as the two turtle brothers exchanged a look of pure ecstasy. A loud clap sounded in the air as Donatello and Michelangelo shared a high three. The purple and orange masked turtles has been kneeling while being lectured for the last hour by their sensei on the importance of stealth and awareness that the two reptilian mutants would need in order to survive the world above the sewers. Permission from their respected father for their first topside escapade was something the turtles had waited fourteen years for.

"Alright!" Michelangelo yelled, fist pumping the air with a balled, dark lime green hand, "Fresh air and butt kickin' action!"

"Didn't you just hear what Master Splinter said, Mikey?" the orange banded turtle's gap toothed brother piped up beside him, "Stealth mode only. No action. We have to view this as a new training excersize for our survival!" Donatello peeked at his rat sensei through his purple mask after saying the words he was sure his sensei wanted to hear. Donnie was worried that they might change their protective father's mind if he thought they had not listened. To the intelligent turtle's relief, their father had not seemed to mind. The man-turned-rodent simply sat patiently for his sons to finish speaking, not so much as twitching one long white whisker.

"Aweh, come on, Donnie!" Mikey pouted, sticking out his lower lip and crossing his arms, obviously not taking his brother's less than subtle hint to shut up, "Leo and Raph fight purple dragons all the time! Why shouldn't we get in on that? We have just as much training as they do!"

"Because, shell for brains! We're mutants!" Donnie put enough emphasis on the last word to make his younger brother cringe a bit. The olive turtle frowned slightly, looking down at his shorter sibling, "Remember? Humans don't exactly take well to our "kind", we can't be seen! Even if they are criminals."

"Leo and Raph like us!" Mikey retorted defensively, scoffing at the other terrapin as if he were stupid, a tone the naginata wielding turtle did not respond well to. Before Donnie could insert a smart reply, though, Splinter interrupted the conversation that was quite quickly escalating into an argument.

"Your brother is right, Michelango." Splinter stated calmly, stroking his long yet thin beard thoughtfully. The soft voice caused the boys to turn their attention immediately to their father, "You will not be fighting. In fact, I forbid it."

"But sensei!" Mikey blurted out, daring to interrupt Splinter before knowing whether he was finished or not, "What if Leo and Raph get into trouble?"

"I forbid it, Michelangelo!" The tall rodent firmly reprimanded his youngest son, narrowing his eyes in Michelangelo's direction as if daring him to further question his orders. His gaze quickly softened once the turtle had shrunk into his shell a few inches, "If you do not think your brothers can handle themselves, why not tell them yourself?" The statement left both turtles confused only for a moment as Splinter called out in Japanese for his remaining sons to enter the dojo.

"Yeah, Mikey." Came the deep, slightly arrogant voice of Raphael. The seventeen year old dressed from head to toe in black stepped in, immediately locking eyes with the youngest brother, "If you think I'm weak, you could always just tell me. Me and you could spar some more to get me back in shape. Well, that is, if you're up to it after the last beating I gave you." A wicked grin spread across the young man's face, making his emerald eyes glimmer with amusement. Michaelangelo's expression, on the contrary, was one of horror in response.

"No, no, no, no, no!" the panicked words flooded from Mikey's mouth, his arms waving out in front of him as the muscular brunette playfully tackled his younger brother. Chuckling slightly at the sight, Splinter nodded for his remaining kneeling son to stand and then stood up himself.

"Excited for tonight?" the other human boy, also dressed in black, asked the tall turtle with a gentle smile of his own, pointedly ignoring the skirmish on the floor between Raph and Mikey, who was now in a choke hold. Returning the smile, Donatello nodded.

"Of course I am, Leo! It's our first ever outing into New York!" Donnie said excitedly, eyes aglow with an all to familiar burning curiosity. The eldest son chuckled, patting his brother on the shell and making his ocean blue eyes connect with the turtle's.

"Don't get too excited, Donnie." Leo warned, only half joking, "It's not all that great once you get there." Donatello just huffed in mock annoyance at his big brother's remark, waving a hand as if to dismiss the comment completely, though Leonardo knew different. Donatello always took his brother's advice seriously.

"Uncle! I said Uncle, Raph!" Mikey yelled at the slightly larger being that was now sitting confidently on his carapace, holding a green arm in a painful and awkward looking position in the air behind the turtle with a firm grasp. Feeling satisfied with his victory, Raphael released his baby brother, laughing evilly (at least that was how Mikey heard it) as he did so.

"Alright, nuff horsin around." Raph chuckled, holding a hand out to the smaller turtle, who forgot all transgressions against him immediately and accepted the help, "When are we gonna get this show on the road? Sensei?" As Mikey stood, all eyes fell on the rat.

For a while, Splinter did not reply, he simply gazed at his sons with his cautious stare. To any outsider, it would seem as if the mutant was glaring at the odd mixture of human and turtle boys. But to his four sons, it was a very concerned face, filled with uncertainty and worry that the man held for his adopted and biological sons.

"Leonardo," Splinter started, making the tension in the room rise several degrees, and all of the brothers stood up a little straighter. His moving stare fell upon his former look alike. He paused to take in the form. His son's long, slightly curled dark hair, sharp facial features, and strong yet lean build perfectly reflected what Yoshi had looked like as an eighteen year old. The only difference was in the boy's slight epicanthic eye shape, which had been more pronounced in Yoshi. That was no doubt because of his mixed Japanese and Tiwanese decent.

After reminiscing through his eldest son, Splinter continued, "I fully expect you to keep your brothers safe and out of trouble. All three of them." he added with a glance aimed at Raphael.

"Hai, Sensei!" Leo enthusiastically replied, bringing his legs together and bowing slightly. Splinter hid an amused smile as Raphael rolled his eyes at the overachiever.

"Raphael, if anything should happen, you are to protect your brothers with all of your strength." Splinter said to his second son, who smiled and ran his fingers through his natural fohawk and tilting his head up proudly. This was a habit the boy had picked up when he was young, signifying his confidence, or in most cases, his cockiness.

"Of course Sensei!" Raphael said with a tone that did nothing but reassure his father of his son's attitude problem. But the barely perceptible, worried twitch in Raphael's eye reminded Splinter of his second son's fierce protectiveness he had over his younger brothers. Splinter could rest assured that Raphael would take his job as bodyguard seriously. The father of four then turned to his next youngest son.

"Donatello, keep your senses about you. Do not let your brothers make rash decisions. In times of confusion, become their guiding light." Donatello only nodded and bowed deeply. None the less, Splinter received his quietest son's earnest reply. His third son had proved time and again that he was the voice of reason among his brothers, never beating around the bush and bluntly stating his mind when he decided to speak it. Though his intelligent mind often complicated his sentences to the point of annoyance for his brothers, who were at time unable to understand what Donatello was saying unless he repeated his statement in a simpler way.

"Michelangelo." Splinter addressed the youngest last, pausing when he saw the turtle's apprehensiveness at receiving his job. The rat smiled gently, "Do not misbehave."

"What?" the turtle asked disappointedly, his posture and freckled face drooping at the less than expected statement. Splinter whipped his tail in warning as his sons who were not being addressed burst into laughter, making the three stand tall and hold their breaths to stop the laughing fits. After glaring at his brothers harshly, Mikey returned a sad gaze to his master, "Sensei, is that it? What's my role?"

"If you get into trouble, your brothers usually do as well. So you must refrain from misbehaving. That is your role, Michelangelo." Splinter watched his son droop further towards the floor, "Part of it, at least." At that, Michelangelo perked back up ever so slightly, giving a quizzical look to his sensei. The rat smiled again, "The other part of your role is something only you can do, and only when your brothers fail."

"Really?" Mikey asked excitedly, bouncing slightly and looking directly at Splinter with innocent eyes, "What is it?"

"That is a secret, my son." Before his son could collapse in a heap of despair again, Splinter continued, "A secret weapon."

"A secret weapon?" Michelangelo repeated, eyes twinkling with keen interest. Splinter knew just how his fourteen year old son worked. This would keep him happy for a long while.

"Yes. So secret that even you, Michelangelo, do not know of it yourself." At these words, Splinter was sure he had successfully pleased his youngest because the smallest boy immediately turned to his brothers with a sideways, cocky smile.

"Ya hear that?" Mikey said proudly, sticking a green thumb in between his pectoral scutes, "I'm the secret weapon!" The remaining three boys simultaneously groaned, knowing they were going to be hearing about this all night long.

"Now, my sons." Splinter addressed them, "The last and most important rule for a ninja?"

"Come home alive." his sons simultaneously chimed, all smiling widely. Splinter replied with a wide smile of his own.

"Yeah!" Mikey whooped, running off towards the exit, "Lemme go get my kusarigama so we can get outta here!"

"Wait up, Mikey!" Donnie called excitedly, bowing once more to his sensei as thanks before running off after his immediate younger brother.

After their siblings left, the remaining two brothers looked worriedly towards their father, as if to ask if it was really alright for them to escort the excited turtles to the harsh surface world. As Splinter nodded his affirmation and faith in them, Leonardo and Raphael drew out their masks from their pockets, Leo's blue and Raph's red. They tied them around their eyes and went to gather their weapons as well, taking a moment to glance at each other and share their own silent pact to keep their precious younger brothers safe no matter the cost.

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"Stay here while Raph and I check the alleyway." Leo instructed his brothers before grabbing the cold metal rungs of the ladder leading up towards a circular manhole cover. He waited for the orange and purple masked turtles to nod obediently before ascending the ladder. He heard Raphael coming up behind him, the barely audible clinking of his brother's soft sneakers against metal starting only a few rungs behind the sound of his own. After ten feet of methodical climbing, the teen placed both gloved palms flat on the back of the manhole cover, carefully and silently moving the heavy cover up and over to be placed gently to the side, still halfway covering the hole.

Leo popped his mask covered face up over the edge of the opening, looking up and down the alley for any signs of life. There was nothing but a few full, tarnished silver trashcans lining the dark alley and the dark green, graffiti cover dumpster in the very back lefthand corner. The black haired boy pushed the cover the rest of the way from the hole, flinching at the scraping sound it made against the concrete. Leo quickly exited the sewer. He crouched low and circled the hole to get out of Raph's way before his temperamental brother could shove him out of the way. As soon as Raph's feet touched the pavement that was glistening with the light rain that had recently passed through, both boys headed for opposite walls of the alley. They stuck to the shadows, moving in perfected unison towards the opening of the alley.

Leo had taken the left, looking down the rarely populated street to the pizza shop at the corner. Every great once in a while customers could be seen coming and going from the run down red brick building. More often than not, though, the only people to be seen at the shop were the manager, who also seconded as chef, and the delivery boy who rode his scooter around the city to deliver piles of pizza to paying customers. Neither of them would be working on a Sunday, though, and Leo was relieved to see that the Hamato's most frequented restaurant was empty, as well as the remainder of street, lined with condemned and abandoned apartment buildings, on his side.

When the leader of the group of ninja looked to his second in command, Raph nodded to confirm he had found the same on the right end of the street, where only one inhabited apartment building was two buildings in to the corner. Exchanging a smile, Leo and Raph went back over to the opening in the ground.

"Area secure!" Leo whispered down to his waiting kin. Instantly, a blur of orange and green filled Leo's vision with startling speed. The eldest was always surprised, and sometimes envious, of his youngest brother's speed. Managing to keep collected even with the start, Leo quickly signaled for Raph to grab the tail ends of Mikey's mask before the hyperactive turtle could jump up the fire escape that was attached to the abandoned building on the right side of the alley. Of course, Raph willingly obliged.

Donatello's entrance into the city was much more laid back. The tall purple masked turtle bobbed his head out of the sewer exit after the end of his retracted naginata poked through. His eyes, which looked more brown than red in the dark lighting of the alley, scanned the alley quickly before the turtle took in a deep breath through his nostrils and grimaced at his older brother, who was hovering above the opening.

"So that's what rain water smells like before it gets to the sewers." Donnie quietly chuckled before climbing the remainder of the way out of the descending tunnel. Leo smirked at his olive colored brother.

"Told you it wasn't exciting." he said, reaching down to lift and replace the dark pewter cover he had removed. As soon he set the lid in place, a loud clanking sound filled the air that obviously came from another source, and Leo immediately jumped towards Donnie, pinning his brother against the alley wall to hide the turtle in the shadows it provided. His heart drummed in his ears as his adrenaline spiked from the unexpected sound. The eldest boy whipped around, both hands reaching for the twin katana which were criss crossed on his back, held in place by the black leather belts that also crossed the front of his black short sleeved shirt. He stopped himself from unsheathing the swords when he saw the face of an angry Raphael slapping a guilty looking Michelangelo over the head by the dumpster.

"Doofus! Quit messing around, unless you wanna get us-" Raphael stops lecturing his turtle brother as his eyes drifted over to where Leo was hiding in the shadows, his back pressed against Donnie as if shielding the slightly taller boy, "What the shell are you doing, Leo?"

"S-sorry!" Leo stammered uncharacteristically, stepping bashfully away from the reptile he was pretty sure he had smashed into the brick and mortar. Donnie took in a deep breath, as if the wind had been knocked out of him. Leo rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "I thought someone was coming. What happened?" Mike immediately started whistling and looked away at the question. Raph promptly smacked the bald head from behind.

"This punk just had to inspect the dumpster!" Raph growled quietly while glaring at the innocent looking Mikey, "He dropped the lid when he went to shut it!" Leo rolled his eyes, which then followed Mikey as the youngest of the four crouched down beside said dumpster.

"Say, Leo? What does... Douche-bag mean?" The freckled turtle asked, his mind losing interest in the current conversation and wandering the the block letters expertly spray painted in neon yellow and pink onto the side of the waste disposal unit. Raph grinned mischievously.

"I'll tell ya what it means. A douche-bag is a va-"

"VAAAAaaaaarrrrrry bad word!" Leo cut Raph off a little too loudly, casting him a pointed glare. Mikey made some comment about Leo sounding like a pirate, while his immediate younger brother simply shrugged, the evil grin still planted firmly on his face. He heard Donnie snicker from behind him, but Leo refrained from saying that he was pretty sure Don knew just as much about feminine hygiene as Mikey did, just in case he was wrong. Which would be creepy, in Leo's opinion.

"Anyways," Leo said in a lowered voice, moving his gaze to the rusted fire escape, "Why don't we go see what we really came up here for." At that, Mikey and Donnie grinned widely, nodding emphatically. Leo only nodded, holding a single finger to his lips to remind his brothers that they were to be stealthy, even if Mikey had cost them a few points with his conspicuous dumpster exploration.

Leonardo's brothers all nodded, instantly interpreting their leader's orders. Silently, Leo took the lead, quickly working over towards the underside of the escape. He jumped up high, not bothering to lower the ladder knowing it would squeal in protest if the rusted bolts were forced to move from their fixed positions. Using his black gloved left hand, Leo grasped the edge of the lower level to the escape, swinging his body weight up and hooking his right foot along the edge as well, hoisting himself up towards the rooftops. Donnie and Mikey followed in that order, expertly pulling themselves along with ease, and Raph at the tail end, watching their backs with one hand resting on a sai that was tucked into his black leather belt at all times.

Swiftly and silently, the blue, purple, orange, and red masked boys made it to the rooftop. Donnie and Mikey gasped at the view.

The sky was overcast completely with smooth, pitch black was no silvery moon to illuminate the momentous night, but the city's lights covered that aspect quite nicely. From their vantage point, the boys could see thousands of lights, varying in color, intensity, and density as they stretched on for miles. Sirens blared from a distance along with the sounds of screeching tires, and the drone of traffic from the busier roads nearby. It was a less than spectacular view for any regular inhabitant of Brooklyn, but not for the turtles who had spent their lives underground.

"This is..." Donnie started, trailing off as he gaped at the world around him, filled with endless possibilities and uncharted territory. While the young genious' mind was racing with new thoughts and feelings, Mikey finished his sentence.

"AMAZING!" The orange banded turtle yelled, throwing his arms in the air as if he had just won a hundred meter dash. Both of the human boys immediately shushed him and followed their excited brother to the edge of the building, purposely keeping a few feet back. Mikey peeked over the edge, soon to be followed in his vigil by Donatello, who was snapping out of his thoughts. Raph and Leo watched their brothers survey the empty road in front of the building with amusement.

There was nothing special about this part of town. Its oddly quiet atmosphere was the reason the eldest boys had chosen this place for their brother's first exposure to the upper world. The two had scouted out many areas for the last two weeks, and decided this was the best place to let their brothers come out and release their excitement and energy before going elsewhere. It was more for Mikey's sake than Donnie's, though, knowing how ramboncutious and clumsy the youngest brother could be when he was not focused. Not that Donatello was to be dismissed in this matter though. The intelligent turtle could space out easily when he was overwhelmed by his own laborynth of thoughts, and needed to be kept close watch over while he was being exposed to the new, no doubt thought provoking environment.

"Looks like we chose well." The blue masked ninja stated quietly to his red masked sibling as Mikey and Donnie started excitedly pointing and whispering about something below.

"Of course!" Raphael huffed, crossing his arms and frowning in true Raphaelian posture as he took the well meaning statement the wrong way, "We know them better than anyone, maybe even better than Splinter! If we had picked wrong, we might as well commit seppuku for not being able to do something so stupid simple." Leo laughed at this, smacking his brother's back through the black wife beater he wore. He only got a sour and slightly disgusted look from his younger brother as he did not give the argumentative comeback Raphael was hoping for.

Leo was determined not to get into a fight tonight, he wanted the mood to stay light and friendly for as long as possible for his naive little brothers. It would not be long, he knew, before the turtles realized how unforgiving and cruel this world could be for anyone considered different from society.

"Let's get them moving then, shall we?" Leo smiled at his scowling brother, nodding towards the oblivious turtles on the ledge. Raph's mood lifted considerably. The brunette nodded and walked without a sound to his adopted brothers, swinging his bare arms around both of their shoulders and resting his head in between their turned faces.

"I can't believe you dorks are so fascinated with an empty street." Raph chuckled, gaining a frown from Mikey.

"Hey! I'm not the dork, Donnie is!" he whined.

"Excuse me? I'm right here you know!" Donnie retorted.

"Yeah, I know!" Mikey chimed. Donnie opened his mouth to retort, but Raph knocked their heads together before the argument could escalate. The two turtles simultaneously rubbed their head after complaining about Raph's violent behavior.

"Not now, you two." He growled irritatedly, "We've got twenty four blocks both ways to cover and I don't wanna hear you two arguing about every little thing!"

"Finally, some action!" Mikey said, making sure to keep his voice low in order not to be scolded again, or worse, taken back underground.

"Not necessarily, Mikey." Leo interrupted, "It isn't like we get into a fight every time we go patrolling."

"Awww!" Mikey whined, slumping over the edge and tucking his three fingered hands under his chin while sticking his lower lip out in disappointment. Raph chuckled and pat his brother's carapace.

"Sorry Mikey." he consoled mockingly, "Guess you won't have the most exciting night of your life tonight. Maybe another night." Mikey stuck out his tongue, but bounced up suddenly with the exciting thought of running over rooftops like they had planned.

"You know, it's actually a lot quieter than what I imagined." Donnie pointed out as they all straightened up and lined up against the far edge of the building. As if synchronized, all four brothers leapt towards the next building in unison, "I suppose it will be an easy night."

* * *

**Famous last words?**

**Alright! Sorry about the slight profanity! (Is douche bag considered profanity?) So, this is part one of two or three of the turtle's first adventure to the surface! More characters will be introduced in the next chapter, and much more... Well I will let you find out yourselves! Tell me what you think! Predictions? Questions?**

**Ah! Just in case your confused about the whole Splinter/Yoshi thing, Splinter refers to rat form, Yoshi refers to human form.**


	3. Topside Travels Part Two

Mikey felt utterly exhilarated as he ran free across the hard concrete rooftops. To his left, Leo, to his right, Don then Raph. The turtle felt as if he belonged here, alongside his masked brothers, running without restrictions into the awaiting adventures he was sure he would find if they kept going. Mikey hardly noticed as a drizzle came down from the blackened sky above, coating he and his kin with a layer of water mixed with sweat. This in no way put a damper on his mood, in fact, he felt so happy that he wanted to scream out into the night and release all the energy that he could slowly feel building in his chest. he refrained from making any noise though, silently running along, remembering his father's instruction to behave.

For now, Michelangelo was content with executing extravagant flips and dong seemingly impossible stunts whenever the ninjas crossed another gap between buildings. If he had been doing these stunts in the lair, he no doubt would have been scolded by his older brothers and master. But topside there seemed to be no restrictions. His siblings had even joined him by silently doing incredible flips and moves of their own. Mikey did not notice the grin that threatened to split his face in half until he noticed all of his brother's mouths doing the same. Then another joyous feeling hit the youngest boy.

In fact, they all felt it. The four of them knew they were meant to be together like this, they were a team. And the team soon faced their first challenge once they had covered eleven blocks. Little did they know, this was the beginning of the end for their "easy" evening outing.

Holding an opened hand up, Leonardo stopped his brothers on the roof of a large building. He crouched low and neared the ledge of the building, his brothers following suit. Being the ever watchful and attentive brother he was, Leonardo had been the first to notice the sound of a fight happening in the back alley below. His brothers quickly realized what was happening though. All four boys peeked over the edge of the brick building, looking down on the scene below.

"I'm only gonna say this one. Last. Time." came the cold, gruff voice of a thin man from below. Leonardo and Raphael immediately recognized the man as Snake, a member of the Purple Dragons. They had fought the cowardly lackey's pawns more than once in the past, and won every time. He had three of his men standing behind him, each very large in muscle mass, and equally threatening looking. Their immense size dwarfed the skinny man standing immediately before them.

Snake was talking to someone just out of the brother's vision, "Tell me where your girlfriend is, or I'll have Tiny here," Snake jerked a thumb in the direction of the largest man, covered in tasteless, colorful tattoos and wearing ripped clothing with clunky chains weighing down his already sagging shredded blue jeans, "snap your bean pole legs in half."

"Yeah, right!" came a cocky voice from the shadows Snake was talking to, "She ain't my girlfriend- yet. And I wouldn't rat April out to you freaks anyways!"

At that, Tiny reached out and grabbed ahold of whoever had just spoken. The large man pulled a heavily bruised and scrawny looking teenage boy into the four ninja's line of sight. They boy swung a hockey stick that was being grasped in his hand around, aiming for the huge man's ugly mug. The weapon was stopped short, though, by the giant hand of a black man that was covered in a black leather, fingerless glove that had dangerous looking silver spikes on each knuckle. The bearded man snapped the stick in his hand, yanking the remaining splintered wood from the boy's grasp and tossing it aside.

"Casey, Casey, Casey." Snake shook his head as if he were ashamed of the boy, then turned to Tiny, "Alright, break him."

"Time to move, Raph." The observing blue masked teen said, standing up suddenly. He looked at his adopted brothers, "Stay here, we'll be right back. That's an order."

Donatello nodded immediately in response, while Mikey's response, although similar, was more hesitant and filled with conflict. Leo shot his youngest brother a warning glare before looking at Raphael, who was already perched on the safety wall built around the edge of the building, ready to pounce. Leo smirked, eyeing his brother through the long wet strands of hair that stuck to his water darkened mask, before making his move. The eldest son jumped over the edge easily, drawing out a katana as he skillfully and silently descended.

Unfazed by the sensation of falling, Leonardo successfully landed on the shoulders of his opponent, a short yet muscular hooded man that was waiting off to the side by the larger black man. Before the gang member could even fall over from the unexpected weight on his shoulders, Leonardo swiftly jammed the hilt of his katana in the back of his head, knocking the man unconscious. Leo spared a glance at his second in command, who had landed on the black man and also knocked him out with his sai.

They exchanged a nod, then Leo quickly dashed over to Snake, who had not noticed the teenager's silent attack just yet. Raph took to the shadows, circling out of sight from Tiny, who was his target.

"Call off your dog, Snake." Leonardo hissed into the skinny man's ear as he rest the back of his cold metal blade on Snake's neck. The Pruple Dragon member froze up immediately, not realizing the teen had no intention of killing him. The coward gulped nervously.

"T-Tiny!" he called out in a weak voice to the man that was currently holding they boy, who Leo recalled name was Casey, by the ankles to ready the legs for breaking. Tiny turned around irritatedly, his scowl quickly turning into an expression of shock and surprise at the sight of the blade on Snake's neck and his fallen battle kin.

"What the heck?" Tiny said in the deepest and most gravelly sounding voice Leonardo had ever heard.

As soon as Tiny's attention was elsewhere, Raph made his move. Lunging from the darkness behind Tiny, the smaller teen jabbed the hilts of his sais into the back of the Purple Dragon's knees, causing the man to toss away his captive in an attempt to flail his arms about in search for balance. Finding none, the man fell like a large oak tree, thudding into the wet pavement below. Not wasting a moment, the red masked ninja jumped onto the man's back before the lug could push himself up. As Tiny turned his face to snarl at the person on his back, Raph grinned cockily.

"Nighty night, Tiny!" he cackled as he ruthlessly kicked the man in the face, connecting his black sneaker with strong jaw bones. The powerful blow successfully rendering his target unconscious, Raphael turned to Snake and his brother.

"Blue and Red!" Snake spat, rather boldly for such a weak willed man, "You always ruin things for me, don't ya? What, you guys my stalkers or somethin'? What'd I ever do to-"

"Can it, freak." Raphael cut off the man's frustrated rant threateningly, "Else I'll have Blue here break your beanpole legs!" He smirked as he repeated the earlier said statement, the victim of his malice filled words flinching harshly.

"Enough, Red." Leo told his brother firmly, careful not to use Raph's real name. "Blue" turned his attention back on the man he was holding, removing his blade from his throat and shoving Snake away from them, "Get out of here, and don't let us catch you messing around here ever again!" Having been released, Snake abandoned his crew and dashed off for another alley leading out to the main streets. The black haired man paused only once to shout over his shoulder.

"You don't know what your getting into heros!" Snake yelled, venomously spitting out the last word, "This is bigger than some common vigilantes can handle!" Before either of the ninjas could retort, Snake was gone, scurrying off to suck up to whichever gang leader he had just failed.

"Hey." Came the young voice from the ground behind the two brothers. Leo and Raph whipped around, facing a severely battered Casey, who was grinning from ear to ear, revealing his missing teeth. His left eye was swelling shut and slightly red, and there were bruises forming in the shape of hands from where Tiny had been strangling him. Nonetheless, there was a dangerous twinkle in the young man's eye, showing that he still had plenty of fight left in him, "Thanks! Those guys jumped me on my way home."

"Don't mention it." Raph growled, reaching down to help the teen up despite his aggravated tone, "Seriously. Don't. We shouldn't have had to come and save some punk from being beat half to death on our night out!"

"Red!" Leo scolded, not wanting to scare off the kid just yet. When the Purple Dragons were involved in something, it was never good, and Leo wanted to get some answers from this kid, "Casey, right? Why were these guys looking for this "April" person?"

"Dunno, really. She hasn't talked to me since her dad dissapeared." The teen replied with a shrug, his dark brows knitting together in an expression of irritation, "If they lay one, dirty hand on her...!" Casey trailed off, clenching his fists and letting out a hiss of anger through the wide gaps in his mouth. Leo and Raph waited patiently for Casey to bring his temper under control by kicking Tiny in the side a couple times. Once the teen turned back to them, he had a much calmer, yet determined expression, "Anyways, I gotta go check on April. Thanks again! You guys seriously kick butt!"

Casey left no time for the ninjas to protest, because he was running off around the corner the next instant, the sound of his steps splashing through the puddles trailing off into the distance. Leo and Raph stood agape for a couple of seconds, unsure of what to think of the boy who had just run off after being beaten. It was not long, though, before Raph let out a loud cackle, causing his older brother to jump slightly.

"What kind of loon is that guy?" Raphael laughed, brushing back his drooping fohawk, "He didn't ask us questions or nothing! It was like he was perfectly used to seeing red and blue masked ninjas falling from the sky and trash some gang members! He must be crazy!" At that, Leo unsuccessfully tried to keep from bursting out laughing.

"Is that so?" Leo asked his brother with a wide grin. Raph gave him a disgusted look and raised a brow.

"What?" the brunette asked, suspicion and irritation lacing his voice.

"Oh nothing!" Leo said, waving a hand in the air as if to bat away Raph's attitude, then looked at his younger with a mischievous glance from the corner of his eye, "It's just funny you said that, because he actually reminded me of you!" Raph growled at his brother's snotty comment and swung at him, which Leo evaded successfully by ducking away while laughing.

"Shut up, Blue." Raph grumbled as he turned to head back up to his waiting younger brothers. Leo just laughed again while following Raph up to the side of the building, where they quickly scaled another fire escape.

"Alright, guys, sorry for the-" Leo stopped short as he took in the sight that met him as he climbed over the wall behind Raph. His brother was frozen in place, staring at the empty area where they had left their younger brothers. It took a moment for Leo to register what was wrong with the dark and unoccupied area. As he realized what, or rather, who was missing, two emotions hit Leonardo at the same time, both equal in intensity.

The first was an overwhelming sense of fear. Fear that he had lost his brothers. That he had failed his job as a leader, as an older brother. He feared for his younger brother's safety. The though of him not being able to find his brothers and lose them forever made him quake in his sneakers.

The second emotion was anger.

"I told them to stay. HERE!" Leo growled through his teeth as he began scanning the rooftop frantically for signs of his siblings. Raphael had not said anything, but was searching the perimeter around the building, checking to see if the turtles had, for some reason, hidden themselves on the streets below. Raph just shook his head stiffly, began pacing, and drawing out his sais once more in reaction to the anger he was obviously feeling. Leonardo shook his head as well, loosening the cluttered panic that was starting to cloud his mind. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. He had to think, look for any sign of his brothers. Luck for him, he would not have to do that.

A shrill scream suddenly filled the cold air, drowning out the hum of the city. It was a terror filled, horrified sound. A chill ran down Leo's spine, and he quickly turned to look at his red masked brother. One glance was all he needed to see the shocked expression, and knew his brother was thinking the same thing.

"Found them." Leo huffed before he dashed off towards the scream, which was still ringing clearly through the air. The teen easily closed the gap between him and the next rooftop over, landing skillfully and continuing on quickly. He was nearing the rooftop closest to the sound, when the scream suddenly cut off. This only proved to unnerve Leonardo further, as did what he heard next.

"Now, Mikey!"

The voice of his second youngest brother was enough to make Leo trip over himself and almost fall face first if Raph had not been behind him and grabbed his arm. Green eyes framed in red looked at Leo in worry. Not for his older brother, but for the younger ones that were no doubt nearbye. This worry seemed to increase when the sound of fighting broke out from the street beside the building they were on.

"Oh, shell." Raph mumbled, letting go of his brother, who had regained his balance. They both ran over to the end of the rooftop. Raph had just gone to lean over the edge when Leo's sixth sense for danger tingled, and he grabbed his brother by the back of his collar, yanking on him and pulling him away from his frantic search for the turtles. Raph was about to cuss his brother out when a pink beam of light hit the area he had been leaning on, and the cement crumbled away as if it had been disintegrated.

"What the...?" Raph trailed off as he scrambled up again, this time more cautiously approaching the edge, alongside Leo. The sight that greeted them was enough to drain the color from the boy's faces.

The streetlights that edged the sidewalks on the street had gone dark, glass laying on the pavement from the shattered bulbs. A black van sat at the end of the road, blocking the way of any cars that might com down this side road from the main street. There were four identical men dressed in suits and carrying guns that were shooting pink strands of light randomly into the darkness. The horror of the brothers only grew when they saw a fifth man laying face down on the ground, several throwing stars embedded into the back of his skull. Leo's hands began to shake as he gripped the concrete wall divider in front of him, blanching his knuckles.

Never before had Leonardo killed a man, and it made his heart seize to think about how familiar the glint of silver metal was. This panic was obviously affecting Raphael as well, for neither not could move at the moment, still trying to decipher what was happening below.

"Kraang must find that which is known as April O'neil." One of the men spoke up in a monotone voice, shooting into a shadow quickly as if it had seen something in its depths.

"Kraang is occupied with those who are-" One of the others replied just as emotionlessly as the first. He was cut off as a throwing star came from one of the shadows and sliced open the side of the man's face, followed by two more to the forehead.

"We have to stop them!" Raphael said before the man could fall, his voice shaking slightly with shock. With silent agreement, the two boys lunged over the side of the building, which was a little taller than the last one they jumped from, so they made sure to carefully step onto the red polyester canopy that overlooked a doorway to break their fall midway. From there, they leapt straight into the fray. Usually, the boys would use the deadly silent subtlety of a ninja to quickly execute their mission. For now though, they just wanted to stop their brothers from killing any more of these men, and draw the attention away from their mutated brothers.

"Get out of here!" Leonardo growled as he stepped into the street to face the three remaining men. They just stared at him and Raphael for a moment, almost as if calculating their odds, before raising their guns to aim at them.

Before they could fire however, Mikey swung in to knock them out, or at least, that was probably the idea.

A loud, "Booyakasha!" filled the air as the turtle collided with the three men, sending them flying across the way. Mikey continued to swing from the rope until it swung around its fulcrum point where the grappling hook was latched around a dark light post. The terrapin swung high above the post, then came down to perch skillfully on top of it. The freckled face widened into a monstrous grin as Mikey spotted his brothers.

"Yo, buds, what's up?" he asked nonchalantly. The older boys were left agape, unable to respond to their lax brother in this foreboding situation. They didn't have time to anyways.

"Enough, Mike, we have to scram!" came Donatello's voice. The human teen's eyes only widened from the continuous shock they were receiving as they took in the sight of the thin red head girl dressed in yellow cradled in their brothers green arms. Raphael simply grabbed the sides of his head, mouth wide open as if to form a silent scream. Leo, on the other hand, was quick to find his words.

"Donnie, you... You! What did you two DO!?" he yelled, throwing his arms into the air. The turtle in purple flinched harshly, but did not back down. He tiredly sighed and looked at the unconcious girl with an expression Leo could not quite place. The expression changed though, as Don looked at his older brother blankly, something Donnie did when he did not want to give away his emotions.

"Leo, spare me the lecture." Don sighed tiredly, and looked over to Mikey, who had jumped from the light post with the grace of a cat and quietly snaked up to stand beside his green brother, looking quite guilty. Don sighed again, reluctantly holding out the limp girl towards Leo, "Here, take her for a sec."

Unable to say no with the confusion he was facing, Leo took the girl, and watched as his brother trotted quickly over to the body of the first man that was lying face first against the cold, wet pavement. Don drew out his naginata, squeezing it so that the metal blade unsheathed itself. Then, to the older boy's horror, Don swiftly beheaded the body.

"Donnie!" Raph yelped, finally finding his voice. He rushed towards the purple masked turtle, about to slap away the head Don was now holding in one of his giant three fingered hands. He stopped himself short when he realized there was something odd about the disembodied head, "Are... Are those wires?" He asked, pointing out the red, yellow, and blue silicone covered split metal strings coming from the neck. He also noticed the blue metal that was showing through skin on the cheekbones that had been sliced away from the face, no doubt by his brother's shuriken.

"Look, I'll explain everything once we get back to the lair, but for now..." Donatello trailed off as he pointed behind his brother, towards the three men coming at them, armed and dangerous. Raphael nodded quickly, unsheathing his sai and holding them defensively.

"No, Raph!" Leo barked, "We have to retreat, I can't fight with this-" The black haired teen shrugged with the girl in his arms, "And we can't risk compromising ourselves anymore than we have." Raphael just snarled, he hated running away, but he knew that this was not what they came up to the surface for. In fact, this was turning out to be one of the worst case scenarios. Begrudgingly, he nodded sharply. At that final signal, a smoke bomb was thrown, shrouding the four ninja in a cloud of shimmering purple dust. Once the mist had cleared, not a trace of them was left.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! One more part to the turtle's topside adventure, then I will be moving further along with the plot! **

**Let me know what you think so far! :)**


	4. Topside Travels Part Three

**Okay, the italics are what happened with Mikey and Don, obviously. Just so no one gets confuzzled. :)**

* * *

_Don watched apprehensively as his older brothers struck down two men silently, quickly moving to the next target after sharing a glance. He had never seen his brothers actually engage in combat before, and it was almost surreal to see the precise movements of his kin. Don was glad he was up on the roof, though. He had never fought anyone besides his brothers and sensei, and even then it was only ever sparring practice and staged out situations. There had been a few times when the purple masked turtle had to think and act quickly to survive, but he doubted they compared to being locked in mortal combat. He never had the desire to, either._

_But it bothered Don nonetheless. The fact that his brothers were fighting like this almost every night of their lives, that they fought this way without help from them, bothered Don the most. He always hated seeing his brothers return home with bruises, cuts, and other deliberately inflicted wounds on their bodies, which Donatello was usually left to tend to. He loathed, absolutely despised, not being able to assist his brothers out in the field with Leo and Raph, where he could help them avoid being hurt altogether. Now that he was out here with them, he could feel an itch to leap down and join the fight._

_Apparently, Mikey was having a similar itch aggravating him._

_"Donnie." The freckled turtle whined for the tenth time in the last ten seconds their brothers had been gone. Donatello turned sharply, shushing his little brother. Mikey ignored him, though, "This isn't fair! We should be down there too!" He complained, standing up and walking to the center of the rooftop._

_"Get back here, Mike!" Don scolded, irritated that he had to turn his attention away from the one sided fight below. "Leo said to stay put."_

_"Only cause he doesn't trust us!" Mikey said, raising his voice even more and sticking his lower lip out. Don shushed him again, this time standing up and moving to his upset brother._

_"Yes, he does Mikey." Don soothed, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder, "He wouldn't have left us alone if he didn't trust us." The purple masked ninja pointed out, trying to find an explanation that would satiate Mikey. But the younger turtle did not respond. He only slumped his shoulders and turned his gaze away. _

_Don started to speak again when he was shushed by Mikey, who perked up just as suddenly as he had gotten depressed._

_"Well, excuse me for trying to-"_

_"Shut up, Don!" Mikey hissed, a very angry Don staring at him with squinted eyes as a response, "I hear something." _

_At the intensity in his brother's voice, Don knew Mikey meant business. He strained his hearing to pick up any trace of the sounds his younger was hearing, but found none. Mikey always did have the best hearing of them all, which made it near impossible to have a private conversation without him knowing back at the lair._

_"What do you hear?" Don leaned over to whisper next to Mikey's ear, the long tails of his purple bandana just millimeters above his brother's shoulder. _

_"Another fight, I think." Mikey said, doubt obvious in his voice, "This way!" the youngest brother then sprinted off across the rooftop without warning. Don panicked instantly, his mind immediately thrown into chaos over what he should do. Go back and get his brothers who were in the middle of a fight, or go after Mikey. Sometimes he hated the delay his brain went through in situations like this, one of the disadvantages of over thinking things. Slapping both of his cheeks in an attempt to distract his mind with pain, Don ran after Mikey. If he could keep the rambunctious orange clad turtle out of trouble and get him back without Leo or Raph knowing they ever left, it would save both turtles a lot of trouble._

_As he jumped over to the next rooftop and dashed across the slippery smooth surface, he began to hear what Mikey had been talking about. The sound of a struggle was emanating from a couple more buildings over. He quickened his pace just in time to grab his brother by the rim of his shell as they landed on the building closest to the noises. He was about to scold his brother and drag him back to their original hiding spot when the voice of a young woman rose from below._

_"Let me go, you creeps!" the voice shouted, hysteria on the verge of the tone. Something about the girl's panicked voice made Donatello stop, and he would be forever grateful that he did._

_Still clinging to Mikey's shell, Don quickly sneaked over to the edge of the building and looked over at the brightly lit street below. Several eerily identical men were coming out of a black, unmarked van that was blocking the end of the street. They were stiffly walking towards one of their comrades, who was holding a struggling girl tightly by her upper arm._

_Suddenly Don couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He did not understand how he could be so smitten with a girl he had laid eyes on for only a few seconds, but the redhead teen had made his heart skip a beat the moment he saw her. Don would never know why for sure, maybe it was his newly developed crush, or maybe it was the irritation he had still been feeling from his brothers leaping into battle without him, but the purple masked teen was suddenly filled with burning rage at the men who were trying to obviously kidnap the girl._

_"Mikey." Don quietly said in a way that demanded total attention, causing his younger brother to whip his head around in surprise. Without looking away from the scene below, Don spoke the plan that he had somehow concocted without thinking, "Take the lights out on my signal from the third building down." _

_Mikey gave his brother a blank stare for several long moments before it clicked with him that Donnie was not Leo, then he nodded in response to his orders, taking off immediately across the building. As soon as Mikey began moving, so did Don. The purple banded ninja stealthily scaled down the building and into a narrow alley below. _

_He was startled to some face to face with a sixth identical man, who was staggering into the alley, clutching the side of his face. Unfortunately, there was no place for Donatello to hide in the narrow and empty alley, and the man soon caught sight of him. But it was Donatello who was shocked to see the being in front of him, when it should have been the other way around. A red eye and blue metal was uncovered as the man pulled his hand away from his torn up face to stare at the terrapin creature. Suddenly a light bulb went off in Don's mind as he fit all of the pieces together._

_"A robot?" Don gasped aloud, reaching for his naginata immediately. The robotic man opened his mouth, no doubt to warn the others of his presence, but was cut off as Don brought his staff down heavily on its skull. Apparently, whatever had torn away the skin covering the mechanical features had done some damage already, because even though his naginata merely bounced off the metal skull, the red light in the robot's eyes dimmed and the man fell stiffly backwards. _

_"Uh?" Don let out as he precariously stepped around the body of the robot, eyeing its clothed center carefully as it bubbled upwards. It took all of Don's willpower not to scream out in horror as the grotesque pink, tentacled monster burst through the clothing, screeching and gnashing its sharp teeth. Instead of screaming, Donatello reacted by swatting the pink blob away from him in sheer fight or flight instinct. As the alien looking creature slid down the brick wall limply, Don ran out of the alley in a panicked frenzy._

_He only remembered his plan as he stepped into the light, ducking behind a trash an before anyone, or anything could spot him. He panted as quietly as he could while he made some adjustments to his plan in his mind, the whole robot thing gave him a few ideas and a lot more leeway. Re-strapping his naginata to his back, Don drew out a few shuriken from a pocket on the inside of his leather belt. His hand trembled slightly from the adrenaline that was coursing through his veins from the sudden confrontation with the robot. Gulping hard, Don leapt up from behind the trashcan, throwing the bladed weapons with fatal accuracy into the back of the head of the robot holding the damsel in distress. A blood curdling scream echoed off the walls of the building from the redhead as the man who had been holding her went limp and fell face first into the cement, scraping the side of his face harshly against the rough surface._

_Continuing to scream, the girl backed up, coming directly towards Donatello's hiding place, and away from the four remaining robots. As she came close, the purple clad turtle silently stood and moved to strike several pressure points on the back of her neck, causing her to go limp in his arms and cease her shrill screaming._

_"Now, Mikey!" Don yelled as soon as he was sure no humans were consciously present. Almost as soon as he let out the words, the lightbulbs of the street lamps illuminating the area were simultaneously struck by several throwing knives, plunging the world around him into darkness. A moment went by as the sound of broken glass clattered against pavement, and robotic noises came from the direction of the mechanical beings. Feeling comfortable with the absence of light, Donatello scooped up the thin frame of the girl, who was surprisingly light, and ducked into the depths of the shadows. He clung to the wall, heading down to the building he told Mikey to wait on, when his plan hit a snag. _

_A thin line of pink light shot by, unnervingly close, hitting a nearby wall and creating a gigantic hole in it. Don had not noticed the robots were carrying weapons. Once again his brain lag caught him, making him sink into the darkest shadow he could find while he went over his options and stared as the robots shot around stupidly in random directions. They were obviously panicked that they had lost their target and could not see the culprit. _

_"Kraang must find that which is known as April O'neil." One of the robots spoke up in a monotone voice, blindly shooting into a shadow that was completely in the opposite direction of the turtle's hiding place. For a moment, Don silently reveled at the sound of the girl's name, snapping back to reality as he realized one of the men was aiming his laser gun directly towards him. Quickly dropping April's legs from his gentle hold, the ninja grabbed the last of his shuriken and chucked them at the armed and ready robot. _

_"Kraang is occupied with those who are-" the robot's sentence was cut short as the first star slightly missed its target and only cut open the man's face, the other two embedding themselves deep into the metallic forehead. Gathering up April, Don quickly back tracked before the remaining three robots could fire towards his revealed location. Before he could make it back to the narrow alley, though, Leo and Raph made their appearance._

* * *

"You're sure this is the right place?" Leo whispered tensely over to Don, who was fiddling with his recently acquired disembodied head absently while staring at the girl the blue masked ninja held in his arms. The four teenagers were sitting atop yet another building, scouting out a balcony that was the fifth floor of the apartment.

"This is the address that was on her emergency card." The turtle replied, finally moving his eyes to meet his brother's. This time, Leo did not let his brother escape his stare.

"You have to be really, really sure Don!" Leo said firmly, "We can't just drop her off at the wrong apartment and-"

"Leo! It's me!" Don cut off, an annoyance edging his tone, "Of course I'm sure!" The turtle rolled his red-brown eyes, as if irritated that his brother doubted him. Mikey chuckled to the right of the eldest brother.

"Just like you were sure that bomb wouldn't go off last week?" The orange masked ninja teased. Donatello opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by another taunt.

"Or how you were sure that first smoke bomb test wouldn't turn you completely purple for three days?" Raph laughed from just behind Donatello, remembering the event. Don's cheeks flushed a darker green, and he let put a sharp huff of indignation.

"Or how you were sure crossing wires would be easy and you wouldn't get electrocuted... Four times." Leo smirked, unable to resist the urge to pick on his little brother.

"Yeah! Or that one time when you took that pill and-" Mikey started, a large three fingered hand stopping the rest of his sentence from spilling out as it slapped over his lips.

"Mikey!" Don scolded, eyeing him seriously, "I thought we weren't going to mention that. Ever." He growled through the gap in his teeth. Mikey's eyes went wide and he just nodded suspiciously slowly. The older boys both raised an eyebrow and looked at each their before turning to their younger siblings.

"What's this about a pill?" Raph asked mischievously, placing a hand on his brother's green shoulder. Don just shrugged him off with a grunt of denial, refusing to answer. The hot tempered teen was close to beating an answer out of his immediate younger when the redhead stirred in Leo's arms.

Before Leo could scold himself for getting so engrossed with playing instead of paying attention, the girl's eyes fluttered open, revealing giant, crystal blue eyes. Leo quickly looked up to warn his adopted brothers to hide, but the reptilian teens had already disappeared. Leo would have to remember to praise them on their stealthiness later, after he was done lecturing them about everything they had done wrong. Raphael came over to stand directly behind the girl, out of her line of vision.

"Wha- Why? Where am I?" The young girl started to stammer, coming to her senses. As soon as she looked up at the masked face in front of her, she yelped and struggled against her apparent captor's arms.

"Woah, woah, calm down." Leo soothed, helping the girl to stand on her own, but not letting her thin shoulder out of his grasp. She shook violently as she swayed, and the black haired boy had to steady the girl so she wouldn't lose her balance. She seemed to frightened to say much, so Leo eased her into conversation, "April, right?"

"Huh? Oh... Yeah." April responded, seemingly confused at the stranger's statement.

"Are you okay, anything hurting?" Leonardo continued to ask, locking his blue eyes onto hers. She seemed to contemplate his face for a moment, as if trying to figure out who he was. Then it all seemed to hit her at once.

"You! Your one of the ones that saved me, right!?" She exclaimed, her face brightening slightly, only to be quickly replaced by a fear stricken expression, "You- You killed that guy!" She accused, backing away from Leo several steps and pointing at him, her wide eyes glued to his form. She yelped when she backed into Raphael, spinning around and holding up her fists defensively.

"That guy?" Raph questioned with a smirk, as he used his own hands to lower April's raised fists, "He's fine, he has a thick skull. We sent him and his buddies packing." The red masked boy let the lie slip out smoothly, giving a grin to April. The girl just shook her head and looked around wildly.

"Who are you!?" She asked nervously, "Why are you dressed like that? And why are we on the roof of my apartment building?" April stared at the two teenagers before her, beginning to panic slightly.

"I'm Blue." Leo replied to the first question, then waved an arm towards Raph, " This is Red. We just happened to be in the area when you got into trouble." he explained, ignoring the second question and trying to use his intuitiveness to piece together the situation, "As for that last one, I think it's quite obvious that we just wanted to bring you home."

"Yeah, it's my home, but it's not-" April started, cutting herself off as she clamped her mouth shut and looked at the ground quickly. Leo and his brother gave the redhead an inquisitive glance before Leo decided to ask his own questions.

"April, this might be random." Leo said, "But we want to be sure, just in case. Do you know a kid named Casey?" At the name, April snapped her attention over to Leo, suspicion shining in her eyes. That was all Leo needed, though, "I'll take that as a yes."

"Don't worry, he's fine. We saved him too." Raphael laughed at the sight of the slightly horrified look the teenage girl gave Leo.

"Next question." Leo went on, ignoring his brother's remarks, "Why were you all the way on the other side of the city by yourself? Why were those guys after you?" April's expression hardened further as she full out glared at the dark clothed boys.

"I don't see how that's any of your business." she snapped, obviously reaching her peak stress point. She took a shaky breath in to steady herself before continuing, "Listen, thanks for saving me from those freaky look alikes, but I can take care of myself from here."

"Right, like you could take care of yourself before." Raph snorted, making Leo and April turn their glares to him. Leonardo sighed as he turned back to the girl.

"Alright, if you want us to leave, we will." The elder ninja told her, "We just wanted to see if we could help." April's icy stare softened at this, but she still remained silent.

Leo nodded at his brunette brother as a signal for them both to take their leave. Raph nodded back, taking off over the rooftop and landing on the next one over with ease. Before Leo did the same, he glanced back at a slightly agape April as she watched Raphael glide easily between rooftops, and smiled gently.

"And talk to that Casey kid," he said, "He sounded worried about you."

Without waiting for a response, Leo sprinted after his younger, not pausing in his run until he was several buildings away from April's, well out of her sight. He was met by his three siblings by a billboard that had a strange image of a robot that looked like it could be a shiny, mini tyrannosaurs rex, the words "Stockman Enterprises" sprawled in big white letters across the top. Leo made his way under the billboard, where Raph was leaning against one of its wooden supporting beams. Mikey looked up from the head with wires he was now playing with, while Donnie nagged at his younger brother to give it back to him.

"Yo, Leo!" Mikey said with a grin, his blue eyes squinting beneath his orange mask, "Or should I say, Yo, Blue!" The youngest brother started cracking up with laughter, making fun of Raph and Leo's nicknames. Raph growled slightly, while Leo ignored him altogether and stared at the turtles with unnerving intensity.

"Enough, Mikey!" Surprisingly, Don was the one to quiet Michelangelo's antics. He reached over and snatched the robotic head from the youngest, "They're mad enough as it is."

"Damn straight we are!" Raph grumbled, "What the shell were you two thinking, what if you had been seen?"

Mikey quickly looked down at his feet while gnawing at his lower lip, obviously feeling guilty. Donnie, on the other hand, folded his arms in protest. When neither of them said a word, Leo sighed despondently.

"You obviously weren't seen by the girl, or else the first words out of her mouth would have been "Where are the giant turtles!?" What happened out there, guys?"he asked tiredly. This was not how he wanted this night to go at all. He was not expecting everything to go smoothly, but being revealed to two new people and losing track of the turtles was definitely not in his agenda.

"Well..." Mikey started, his eyes darting to Don in obvious reluctance to tell the story. Donnie kept his arms folded across his plastron, stubbornly eyeing the shorter turtle. Then he turned to his brothers.

"I though we were going to wait until we got back to the lair?" The genius turtle pointed out. Raph and Leo went easier on the younger boys when Splinter was around, and Don did not feel like being interrogated by two paranoid brothers. The look Leo gave him was enough to make Don feel that he was not going to make it back to the lair before telling the leader in blue what had happened, though.

"I'd rather hear it before you sugar coat it for Master Splinter." Leo grumbled, affirming Donatello's suspicions. The tall turtle sighed, slumping his shoulders and letting his arms hang in defeat. He glanced warily at Mikey, who still looked as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Fine. We'll tell, but it's not that big of a deal guys." Don said, trying to convince his elder brothers.

"Not that big of- DONNIE!" Raph yelled in disbelief, throwing his arms into the air, "Do you even understand what would happen if you had been seen? Someone could-"

"Of course I _understand_, Raph." Donnie shot back quickly, obviously irritated that he had been stopped from continuing, "If you would just let me explain, you'll see just how much I _understood_ our situation." The turtle shared a glare with his immediate older brother before Raph huffed and crossed his arms. Don let out a long breath to calm himself before he started explaining.

Donatello went through all of the major points, like his decision to follow Mikey, the plan he came up with, the alien coming out of the man's middle. He failed to mention, though, the conversation with Mikey before they ran off, how his heart was all a flutter over April, or how his plan failed halfway through his rescue.

Throughout his explanation, Mikey remained uncharacteristically silent and still, staring forlornly at a chunk of splintered wood he was picking away at. Raph huffed again with his arms still folded, and Leo just nodded as if he understood and had expected everything. For a long while it was quiet after Donnie spoke, everyone thinking about what to say next in response to the outrageous tale.

"Well..." Leo started, all eyes falling on him, "I guess you guys did what me and Raph would do in your situation." he said, raising the hopes of his youngest brothers before tearing them down, "But me and Raph aren't giant talking turtles." All of the boys cringed at that statement, even Leo himself. They all hated being differentiated by their physical attributes, but Leo felt it necessary to point them out right now, "Me and Raph are known as Red and Blue because we can't afford for our identities to be known, or else our family could be easily torn apart. How much more so should you be careful not to let anyone catch the slightest wind of you two?" Leo paused to take in the sinking forms of his terrapin brothers, obviously dejected and depressed from the thought of their family being disbanded because of them.

"At least they were aliens." Donnie mumbled, "They have just as much reason to hide as we do."

At the comparison, the four fell silent again, a despondent air hanging thick in the atmosphere. Not the night Leo wanted at all. After a couple minutes of collaborated sulking on the rooftop, Raphael decided to break the mood.

"So, two questions." he started, motioning with a sai that had been twirling in his hand towards his adopted brothers, "One, what are you planning on doing with that head?" he asked Donnie, who perked up significantly at the question.

"Why, dissect it of course!" he said, so cheerfully it came out creepy, "There are so many things we can learn from it. Just from looking at the complex alloys it's made of, I can tell that there are no elements on Earth with these striking characteristics. The influence of human biomechanics is heavily evident in its design! Not to mention the technology used to control and motorize-"

"Sorry I asked." Raph interrupted, stopping the rambling genius in his tracks. Donnie huffed, obviously feeling irritated for being rudely cut off for the umpteenth time that night. The red masked boy ignored him anyways, turning to Mikey, "Second, oh Quiet One, if you had no idea that those guys were robots, why didn't you freak out when Donnie jammed shuriken into their heads?" Mikey finally smiled at that.

"I know Don, is all." The youngest boy shrugged, giving a knowing glance to a slightly confused Donatello.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raph asked with more malice than he intended.

"It just means, Raphie, that I know Donnie well enough to know he isn't gonna kill anybody. Though he did go all Leo one for a sec, and that was unexpected." Michelangelo's sly smile fell into an upset frown before Leonardo could ask him what that last part meant, "I trust my brother, unlike some people."

"I'll ask again, what is that supposed to mean?" Raph repeated, this time with intended venom lacing his words. Mikey stuck out his tongue at his second older brother.

"It means, Donnie's plan was great!" Mikey continued after a slap from Raphael, "He made sure we weren't seen, and if we were, it was by those alien dudes! I trusted my brother, and I'm sure we didn't mess up! Shell, he even trusted me with his plan and it went smoothly! Me!" Now Mikey was pointing desperately at his wide eyed face, trying to get the message across, "You guys act like we just screw everything up!"

Leo sighed, rubbing his hand down his own face.

"Listen, guys." he started, "It's not about whether we trust you or not. It's other people that can't be trusted. Can't you see that it's just to dangerous to rush into situations like that without thinking?" At the last statement, Donatello's shoulders tensed up, and the tall turtle looked to the ground like a scolded puppy. Leo immediately wanted to take back the last few words, but he had meant what he said, "Let's just get back to the lair, where it's safe. We'll talk about the rest later."

"Whatever..." Raph grumbled, echoed by a bummed out Mikey. As they took off across the rooftops towards their entry point, Leonardo noticed his brother in purple look back with worry etched into his features.

"Donnie?" Leo asked in a hushed tone as he signaled Raph to take the lead and slid to the back of the formation, next to his troubled brother. Anxious mahogany eyes met Leo's as his brother gave him a concerned look.

"What if they come after her again, Leo?" Don asked, surprising Leo with the unexpected sincerity of the question.

"She made it pretty clear she didn't want our help, Don." Leo said, "People have their own lives and we have to respect that." When Donatello's worried gaze did not lessen, Leo compromised, "Look, me and Raph will go back next weekend and check in on her. It looks like she got tangled up with the wrong crowd is all. Will that make you feel better?"

After a couple rooftops of contemplating Leo's offer, the purple banded turtle slowly nodded. Leo smiled and pat his brother's hard carapace before quickly taking the lead again. He failed to notice the sparkle of rebellion that had crept into Donatello's eyes.

* * *

**Okay, so this chapter was a little Don-centric than I'd like, but the story as a whole is going to be spread out over all four boys like butter evenly coating a slice of toasted bread! **

**Maybe that's a little wierd... Anywho, feed the nice author lady a few reviews, will ya? I really have appreciated all of the wonderful reviews for this story! Let me know what you think of this chapter as well! :)**


	5. Turtle's Honor

**Okay, this chapter took a little longer than the other ones, and I'm a little... Okay... A lot worried about how it turned out. Stupid writer's block. Let me know if you think it's okay.**

* * *

Michelangelo let out a long sigh as he pushed the door to Donatello's lab open. He was just so bored! Not only had their excursions to the surface been limited to the weekends by Splinter because of the dangers they met on their first time out, but Mikey had also gotten himself grounded twice in the past three days since. After skateboarding through the house on Monday and breaking several of Don's lab toys, smashed Splinter's tea lights, and almost crushing Raph's pet turtle, Spike, Mikey had been banned from the activity for two weeks.

Two days later it was video games. It wasn't his fault he threw his DS (courtesy of Donatello's engineering) across the room, knocking over the last of Splinter's special tea leaves, which fell onto the stove while Leo was cooking and caused a massive oil fire that left his oldest brother with a second degree burn on the back of his left hand. No! That was Eggman's fault for beating him countless times with his new Eggbot that fired missiles from its butt.

"Donnie!" Mikey whined loudly as he walked across the lab to where his brother was using a soldering tool to carve away at the robot head they had acquired.

Dark goggles covered the scientist's face to protect his mahogany eyes from the sparks that erupted from the flames coming into contact with the metal. The desk Donnie was using was littered with papers covered in complex math sentences and big words no one but Donnie could ever want to understand. The papers had all been pushed away from the immediate area the genius was currently working in. Pink stood out against green where Don's tongue peeked out of his mouth as he worked on splitting the metallic skull layer by layer, inspecting each one discreetly.

Mikey groaned when his brother either ignored him, or failed to realize he was there. "Donnie! Don! Donomite! Donster! Donbert Donstein!" he rattled off, trying to get his brother's attention. The last name was what finally caught Donatello's attention.

"Donbert Donstein?" he asked, clearly unimpressed with his younger's naming skills.

"Yeah, you know, like Albert Einstein, only with Don instead of Al or... Eye?" he said excitedly as he finally found something to do. Sure, he could read a comic or watch television, but they seemed boring when his older brothers were off at the dojo they worked part time at on Thursdays, and for some reason the activities he was grounded from seemed most tempting. Seeking out company in his reptilian brother was the next best thing to keep him out of even more trouble.

"You seriously are dying for attention, aren't you?" The purple masked boy inquired, still not looking very amused. Mikey just sighed and slumped into a rolling chair that had been moved around the room to wherever the genius thought it was out of the way. Mikey couldn't understand why his brother even had a chair in his lab. He never sat down when he was experimenting, which he always was. His butt must get tired from not being able to sit down all the time. Man, it sure would suck to be Donatello's butt.

"Wait, do turtles even have butts?" Mikey wondered aloud, something he did quite often.

"What the shell? What kind of question is that?" Don asked, lifting up his goggles as he inspected his work, clearly only half listening and not the least surprised at his brother's random comment by the dull tone of his voice. He was very used to his younger brother's random thought process.

"You work hard, Donbert." Mikey sighed and leaned as far back as he could in the chair to stare at the ceiling, not realizing he had said the previous statement or hearing Donnie's reply, "Sorry I ruined everything for you."

"What do you mean?" Donatello asked, finally looking up from his project at the glum attitude of his go lucky brother.

"Don't act like you don't know what I mean!" Mikey held his palms up towards the ceiling to exaggerate his point, "We've all seen how wierd you've been ever since we got back. It's like you're a cooped up lion, waiting to get out of the cage and run around, maybe eat some people, climb a few trees... Uh... What else do lions do?"

"Your point, Mike?" Don asked, not able to keep the impatience out of his voice.

"It's all my fault you are stuck here when you obviously want to go back up to the surface." The orange banded turtle finally spoke his main idea, sitting back upright and resting his arms over his knees. He looked at his older brother sadly, "And you wouldn't have to wait if I hadn't run off like that."

"Mikey..." Don sighed in exasperation, "I also disobeyed direct orders, so it was partially my fault too."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have left if I hadn't left first!" Mikey threw his arms up again as he retorted.

"And then that girl would have been kidnapped." Don snapped, shutting up the orange wearing ninja suddenly, "What you did saved someone's life, Mike. Master Splinter commended your decisive actions, even if he did scold you as well. Besides, it's not like we're permanently grounded, it's only until we can prove ourselves."

Don held in an irritated groan as his baby brother just slumped over in defeat, obviously still feeling guilty. Not exactly sure how to appease Mikey, Donatello went back to his work. Silence engulfed the lab aside from the clinking of metal against metal as the scientist experimented, and the occasional needy whimper from the younger brother. After a few minutes of trying to ignore the distracting noises emanating from Michelangelo, Donatello's mind wandered away from the robotic head to what had been on his mind for the past few days. He gulped hard as April popped into his mind, thoughts of her being attacked again gnawing away at the paranoia in his head.

"How can you tell I've been wanting to go topside?" Donatello asked suddenly, startling Mikey out of his self pity party.

"Dude, you haven't eaten since we got back, first of all." Mikey pointed out, causing Don to suddenly realize the pain in his stomach.

"Oh yeah! I knew I was forgetting something!" Don said honestly, rubbing his plastron as a grumble escaped from his stomach. Mikey let out a laugh and Don chuckled as well at his obliviousness to hunger.

"You pace a lot, too." Mikey continued on with a smile.

"Like a caged lion..." Don came to a second realization as he connected his brother's comments. Mikey only nodded with amusement.

"You always push yourself when your worried about something." Mikey said in finality. He shook his head sadly, "I know I'm super bummed about being grounded from the city, but I never thought you'd be so upset. Sorry bro."

Don shook his head as well, walking over and patting his brother on the shoulder, "It's alright Mike, don't worry about it. I've just been thinking is all."

"What can I do to make it up to you?" Mikey asked suddenly, surprising Donnie with the unusual question. Mikey had never offered him a favor before. Swallowing hard, the purple masked turtle realized he had found an opportunity he had been waiting for.

"Well..." he started, not sure wether to voice his idea or not. This was something that could get the banned eternally from the surface, and he was not quite sure he was willing to risk that just yet. But Mikey had already taken a hint and was not about to let his older brother stop there.

"Well what!?" he asked excitedly. As often as Mikey gave out favors, his older brother asked for help even less.

"Well, there is one thing you could... Assist me with." Don continued slowly, looking around the room as if checking to see if anyone could hear him, "But first, Turtle's Honor."

Mikey's eyes widened at this comment, and he nodded in a serious manner as he stood up. Turtle's Honor was the only thing Don and Mikey shared that their older brothers were not involved in. It was more than a promise, it was a sworn oath that the two turtles only ever took advantage of in times that they needed each other the most. They had come up with it when they were little, creating rules for the oath and consequences that came along if one did not honor it.

"Rule one." Don spoke habitually as he stuck out the pinky on his left hand to take his younger brother's already extended right one, "Don't abuse the power of Turtle's Honor."

"Rule two," Mikey picked up where his brother left off and crossing his right hand to link fingers with his brother's remaining free hand, "Turtle's Honor is indefinite and works both ways."

"Rule three; NEVER dishonor Turtle's Honor, no matter what." The purple masked turtle stated firmly as he locked eyes with Mikey, "A chip in the shell for every dishonor."

"Rule four; Turtle's Honor is for turtles only." Mikey added the last rule into their chant with a smile as they spun around, ducking their heads under their arms as they kept their fingers locked. Mikey loved the secret handshake he had come up with to go along with his brother's idea to repeat the rules every time they shared the oath. Don smiled back, but his upturned lips turned into a small frown just as quick.

"I want you to cover for me." The genius said simply, "I'm going topside without Splinter's permission." Mikey's eyes widened in disbelief at the request. Donatello was never the turtle to disobey their father's direct orders, that was usually reserved for Mikey. But that wasn't the only reason Mikey was shocked.

"But... Rule two! That means..." Mikey trailed off, losing his thought from the shock.

"I'll cover for you if you ever sneak out." Don stated with a distasteful smirk, catching onto his brother's fleeting train of thought. In truth, he hated being deceitful, but the surface was begging for his attention, and he could not shake the bad feeling he was getting about April, "And we will always cover for each other, until we both decide to end this Honor."

"Wow, Donnie." Mikey chuckled, "You must be more desperate than I thought if your willing to cover for me too. You're never bad."

"Hey! I'm not being bad, I'm just... A little concerned about something is all." Don defended, receiving a scoff from his brother and a knowing smirk. Don rolled his eyes and looked hard at his shorter sibling, "Well, do you think you can do it?"

"You insult me, Donbert!" Mikey scoffed once more, throwing his head to the side in mock contempt, "I could cover your tracks anytime, anywhere!"

"Great." Donnie replied without enthusiasm, "Cause that's what your doing tonight when Master Splinter goes out for his five o' clock walk."

* * *

The hours flew by quickly as five rolled around, and the two teenagers followed their father to the exit of the lair as they always did.

"Shitsurei shimasu." Splinter told his sons as they bowed respectfully to him. He eyed his youngest boys carefully, noting how Michelangelo was wearing a wide, somewhat mischievous grin, and Donatello had not made direct eye contact with him since he had returned from his outing and certainly was not adjusting that habit now. As his sons bid him farewell, Splinter could not keep the foreboding feeling out of his mind. He pushed the paranoia out of his mind as the turnstiles shrank into the distance behind him, leaving it to simple cabin fever that would surely be alleviated in a few days.

* * *

Donatello's three toed foot met the dry concrete roof of April's apartment as he read the time on his personalized cell phone Mikey had dubbed the 'T-phone'.

"Five thirty five." The brainy teen mumbled as he read the brightly lit LCD screen. He had made excellent time, leaving just moments after his Master had, only in the opposite direction. He had identified the shortest route to the redhead's apartment the moment he knew he would be going back to check on her when he spoke with Leo on their return home. It was not that hard for the genius, especially when he had memorized the entirety of the state of New York years ago.

Walking over to the parapet, the turtle leaned over the edge of the building to inspect the balcony he knew was attatchment to the girl's apartment. No light shone out from the window overlooking the balcony, the only light to illuminate it coming from the quickly setting October sun. Though he could not see much from his vantage point, Don deemed it safe to drop onto the balcony after several minutes of still silence.

"Just make sure she's safe, and go." Don repeated aloud to himself for the hundredth time. He checked behind him, as if some unknown entity was lingering just out of his sight, waiting to attack. Or worse. One of his older brothers ready to pummel his guts out. He shook his head and took in a shaky breath. Honestly, he was a bit nervous being truly alone for the first time in his life, let alone being alone in his current unfamiliar setting when the sun was still out. He was in the most dangerous possible situation he could be in, at least, according to his Father and older brothers.

Willing himself to get on with his purpose, the purple masked ninja carefully placed his forehead against the glass, peering inside to what looked like a bedroom. The walls were bright yellow, as far as he could see, and no lights were on inside. What disturbed him the most, though, was the fact that the room was completely empty aside from a bed that had been stripped of its sheets and a single dresser with its drawers pulled out and emptied. It was almost as if the place had been vacated. Don was sure he had the right place, and his mind raced instantly with thoughts of the girl being kidnapped and her house being stripped of any evidence of a struggle. What if the robot men had done just that? Where could she be now? What if she was just waiting inside to be rescued?

Panic starting to grip his mind, Donatello subconsciously pushed against the window to get a better look. Before he could catch himself, the unlocked window swung open and he tumbled inside. Holding in a yelp, Don somersaulted and drew out his naginata in case an enemy had heard his clumsy entrance. He was about to turn and make a break for the rooftops once more when a sudden idea formed in his mind. The turtle instead turned to the door of the bedroom, pressing an ear against it carefully. Hearing nothing outside of the door, he slowly turned the knob and pushed out. Donatello scanned the surrounding darkened hallway, his eyes darkening to brown as they darted back and forth in the nonexistent lighting.

He found nothing out of the ordinary in the room except for the absence of its rightful occupants. The ninja tread silently and slowly down the small carpeted corridor, passing three other doors on his way. One, Donatello found upon further inspection, was a utility closet holding a water heater, auxiliary generator, broom and mop in its depths. The second was a simple full bathroom that had been meticulously cleansed of its contents aside from a few prescription bottles of midol.

The other was a second bedroom. One look at the fully furnished, yet he could tell obviously unused from the stale air that wafted from it, bedroom was enough to make Don quickly shut the door. Something about searching this room did not bode well with the turtle. With his decision to not invade the privacy of the specific area, the ninja moved on to the living space.

There was nothing spectacular about the open living room that connected directly with the kitchen. A three cushion, dark grey couch sat a few feet away from an old box television sitting on a wooden TV stand. Off to the side was a matching dark grey recliner next to a side table and lamp, a single pair of reading glasses neatly folded up and lying on the table's surface. The white front door to the apartment was just between the lobing room and kitchen. Donatello relaxed his shoulders and grip on his staff as he found no evidence in the kitchen, consisting of what one would expect to find in it. Nothing sat atop the small dining table against the wall of the kitchen. The cupboards and fridge also seemed to be cleaned out, confirming Donatello's growing suspicions of the place being abandoned by the girl he was searching for. He had just slammed the fridge door shut in frustration when he noticed the buisiness card magneted to the fridge and plucked it from its place curiously. Before he could read its contents, though, a knock resounded a the front door.

Gulping nervously, Don tucked the card into his belt and crept quietly over to the door, using an eye to peer out the peephole. He held in a gasp at the familiar sight of an expressionless suited man standing outside, a gun conspicuously tucked under his arm. Donatello whipped around to flee through his entry point, only to stop short as a noise reached his ears from that direction.

"Kraang is sure he left this residence's window in the closed position." the familiar cold voice drifted down the hall.

"Kraang is that which is known as "unreliable" and can not be trusted to preform any simple task correctly." another voice retorted.

At that point, Don decided to stop listening and take action to conceal himself. He was already halfway down the hall, and he had a choice between the second bedroom, and the utility closet. Of course with his unyielding apprehension to enter the bedroom still lingering, the ninja chose the tight closet.

"Oh shell oh shell oh shell oh shell." Donnie repeatedly cursed under his breath as he backed into the closet, latching the door as silently as he could. He knocked his head against a water pipe in his scrambled attempt to hide, and in his nervousness lost his grip on his weapon. Rather flustered, Don quickly moved his hand to feel for the wooden texture. It was when his fingers just barely wrapped around the wood that loud footsteps passed his door.

"Kraang is telling Kraang, there is nothing wrong with the perimeter sensors that are in place surrounding this place. There must be a breach in this place which the inhabitant April O'neil formerly resided." the voice of one of the droids sounded from just outside the door. They apparently moved into the bedroom just across the hall as the voice became more indistinct, then returned louder and clearer as they came back out of the room only moments after.

"And Kraang is telling Kraang, there is nothing-" the second matching voice started to reply as the mechanical man opened the door to the utility closet. He was rudely interrupted by a swift blow to the head. As soon as wood crunched against metal, Donatello practically flew from his hiding place, using the end of his wooden beam as leverage to kick the other droid, which Donatello was starting to refer to as Kraang in his mind, in the soft stomach where he knew the ugly pink creature resided.

Wasting no time, Don bolted from the hall and into the yellow walled bedroom, hearing the clatter of a door being slammed open and shouts from behind.

"One of the reptilian creatures that has aided the target which is known as April O'neil to evade Kraang is in this place that..." Donatello managed to catch before he scaled the wall of the building using shuko spikes he had packed, and raced away across the rooftops out of hearing range. He kept running until he was sure that the creatures had not followed him, and he was in an area concealed by shadows. Don was surprised to find that he had carried himself not in the direction of his home, but towards the area he had rescued April from the Kraang.

Panting slightly, Donatello took refuge on a slightly inclined roof, keeping as far from the edge as possible while the remains of dusk flickered away. It was then he noticed two things. The first was the time. He groaned inwardly as he checked his T-phone, revealing the time to be closing in on six thirty. Sensei would be home around eight, and his brothers around seven. There was not enough time to make it back home before his brothers, but there was plenty before his sensei, at least. If he left now, he would still have an hour before his father returned from his evening sewer stroll.

But even then, how was he going to explain his naginata had been replaced with a mop? Donatello banged his head against the wooden handle of the cleaning apparatus he had mistakenly grabbed in the dark and tight space he had been confined in. He would just have to think up an excuse on the way back to the lair after he ditched the mop, so the turtle slowly turned towards the direction of his home. But fate apparently had a plan for the teenager.

"You creeps again?" came the sweet, angelic, yet angered voice from below. Donatello scrambled over excitedly at the sound of it, peeking over the edge he had been so careful to avoid only minutes earlier. Both to his delight and disdain, his crush was before him, alongside two Kraang droids. The thin red head girl was backing defensively into an alley as the disguised robots advanced towards her. Donatello was relieved to see that there were no other people in the immediate surrounding area, it made his job so much easier.

* * *

**April's POV**

"Keep away from me!" April shouted as she turned and ran into the alley, only to be cut off half way through by a surprisingly speedy expressionless man. She gasped and turned to the other man who was blocking her only other escape route. Looking back and forth frantically, the girl backed against one of the walls lining the alley and pressed herself into it as if willing the brick to camouflage her.

Before the men could advance any further, purple smoke filled the alley. Effectively blinded, the men just made strange beeping sounds and wandered around the alley in search for their target. As the smoke cleared, the two Kraang stood amidst an empty alley, their seemingly easy prey long gone.

But not to far. April was currently rubbing purple dust out of her eyes and coughing slightly from inhaling some of the smoke. She could feel gentle yet strong arms cradling her, carrying her to some unknown location. She felt her stomach drop several times as her rescuer, who she was now assuming was one of the odd ninja people from before on account of the familiar princess hold she was in, jumped from rooftop to rooftop. She smiled slightly as they came to a complete stop and finally was able to open her eyes. April's smile quickly faded away at the sight of the green creature before her.

Mouth agape, the redhead let out a startle scream. It was returned in full as the reptilian beast let put a scream of its own, obviously startled by the girl's sudden yelp. It dropped her suddenly, and her scream was cut off as her rump connected with the concrete, and she let out an "Oomph!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" the purple masked creature let out as it tried to recover its mistake by helping April up. She only swatted away the three fingered hand in alarm, even more shaken up at the realization it could speak.

"W-what are you!?" April let out, scrambling backwards in an attempt to escape the... Turtle? Her confusion only grew as she noticed the shell on its back. To her relief, the monster did not attempt to come any closer, it only kneeled down in its position to come to April's level. She sought out its eyes, which were a warm brown color, and filled with worry and sympathy. Something that only added to her discombobulated thoughts.

"Sorry I dropped you." The creature said slowly, its expression soft and sincere. It kept its posture relaxed and unthreatening. There was a calming air about the turtle that relaxed April, if only somewhat, "My name is Do- Uh... I mean Purple."

"Purple?" She echoed in a distant manner, remembering the names of Blue and Red whom she had met only a few days ago and wondering if there was a connection there somehow.

"Yeah!" Purple responded, giving April a warm smile that only further brought her guard down, "I saw you were in trouble, so I thought I'd help you out." at this the turtle rubbed the back of his bald head sheepishly, looking away from the girl.

"Why does everyone think I need help?" April shouted suddenly, causing Purple to flinch harshly. She sat up and glared at the turtle. He looked away from her again, this time eyeing the ground sadly before standing up.

"Sorry. I just didn't want you to get hurt." Purple sadly told her. The look on his glum face softened April's glare.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you." she sighed, tucking her knees in and burying her head in them.

"Don't be!" Purple suddenly blurted out as he took a step towards the distraught girl, only to stop when she winced and looked up at him, "I mean... You're scared, right? You were almost attacked by some random guys and now your talking to a giant mutant turtle! I'd act the same way if I were you. Not that I'm a girl, or human, or know what I'm saying. Just, uh- don't worry about me!"

April could not hide the small smile as the turtle rambled on, obviously trying to improve her mood, "It's not just that. And it's not you. Well, most of it isn't you." she sighed, suddenly wondering why she was still talking to this being she had been terrified of only moments before. She carefully watched the belted and masked mutant bend down again to her level, this time actually sitting down.

"What happened?" he asked, concern shining brightly in his mohagany eyes. Looking into those honest and sincere eyes had been her undoing. When April looked into them, she felt as if her heart was being opened up by this creature's painfully apparent kindness.

"My dad..." she started, choking a little on the words as they refused to come out. Purple just sat patiently and silently, waiting for her to continue as she cleared her throat, "He's been missing for three weeks now. And... And I think those guys that keep trying to get me are the ones that took him. I would just call the police or tell my aunt, but they wouldn't believe me if I told them that-" April's words trailed off as she got quieter, not sure if she wanted to share her unbelievable story with an unbelievable creature.

"That they aren't human?" Purple finished her sentence in the form of a question. She slowly nodded, not the least bit surprised that a mutant turtle would know about robot alien creatures.

"Yeah, I saw one take off his skin yesterday after I followed him." April went on, looking up at the darkened sky, "I tailed him after I heard him say something about my dad, thinking I could find him somehow. I freaked andAran offthen I saw what that guy really was, though."

After she explained herself, the two sat in an uncomfortable silence for about a minute, not really looking at each other, but still mutually curious about one another.

"I'm April by the way." April said to break up the heavy mood, which seemed to startle the turtle slightly as he whipped his head up to made eye contact with her. A wide, gap toothed grin spread across the turtle's face as he shook her hesitant hand.

"Nice to meet you April." he replied happily.

"So, Purple," she asked carefully, "You wouldn't happen to know a certain Red and Blue, would you?" At the question, the turtle's smile disappeared and he quickly took out what looked like a cell phone with a turtle shell case as if he had forgotten something. After glancing at the lit up screen, his eyes widened and he looked very worried.

"Yeah," he said slowly, putting the cell phone back into its place under his belt, "Actually, I should probably warn you that they will be checking up on you this weekend." before April could protest, Purple went on, "Just to make sure you don't get kidnapped."

"I told them I'd be fine." she mumbled, crossing her arms angrily and looking away from the well intentioned turtle.

"I'm sure you will, April. We just can't let something so serious slip by. Besides, they might not even let you know they're there." he explained, though it was obvious to the redhead that the turtle was still hiding something. He fidgeted for a moment more before standing up, "Would you like an escort home? I've got to head back myself."

"I'll be fine, we aren't that far from where I'm staying." April told him coldly, trying to keep her guard up as the turtle's shoulders slumped slightly.

"A-Alright. Just... Be careful." he said, then straightened up as if realizing something, "I know you don't need any help, but maybe I could give you my number, just in case you find yourself in a pinch...?" Purple's voice grew quieter and quieter as if he were embarrassed to ask the question.

April considered his proposal with scrutiny for a long minute before nodding slowly. She took out her own cell phone and entered his information as he told her it, though she did not give him hers, nor did he ask for it.

"Alright!" Purple exclaimed excitedly, "Just give me a call or shoot me a text if you need anything!" April nodded without a word as the mutant turtle walked to the edge of the building, only to stop suddenly and look back at her with a concerned expression, "Oh, and if you do see Red and Blue again... Don't let them know I was here!"

April nodded and smiled at the turtle while giving him a little wave. He smiled back before waving and then disappeared as quickly as he had showed up. April stood alone on the rooftop for a good half hour before she pinched her cheek as hard as she could.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, rubbing her sore cheek with a sigh, "Guess this isn't just some freaky dream then, huh?" April reluctantly moved over to the fire escape on the side of the building, nervously lowering herself down to the pavement below, "Seriously, why can't any freaking ninja leave me on the ground?" she paused suddenly, "I forgot to ask him why he was carrying a mop around."

* * *

"Donnie!" Mikey cried as Donatello walked through the turnstiles at exactly seven thirty, throwing his arms around his taller brother lovingly, "I'm so sorry, bro! I will never, ever do it again, I swear!"

"No, Mikey!" Don scolded back at his little brother, glaring at him harshly, "I can't believe you would do that to my naginata!" The purple masked turtle got in close to his brother, staring at him threateningly.

"Woah, woah! What's going on here, where have you been Don?!" Raph intervened, pushing the two apart. Don just let out a sharp puff of air while Mikey whimpered innocently.

"I had to get away from this-" Don motioned towards the youngest by emphatically, "Walking disaster! He broke my naginata, and I had to carry this mop around while I went to patrol the sewers to cool down!"

"What?" Raph questioned, unconvinced, "Don, you've broken countless staffs before, on your own, why would it matter if Mikey broke one more?"

"Why indeed Raphael!?" Donnie retorted, raising his voice as he drew out the full name. At that point, Leo decided to step in.

"Look, guys. I know you probably feel cooped up after being grounded from going topside, but you can't let it get to you like this." Leo soothed, placing a hand on an increasingly furious looking Raphael, who was glaring daggers at his lippy immediate younger brother, "Don, you shouldn't have gone off on your own like that, it's dangerous. Mikey, you need to be more considerate over other people's possessions." Leo continued in his patented "big brother" tone, "Why don't you two go talk it out someplace quiet, like the lab. I will talk to both of you after you have cooled down."

"Whatever." Don grumbled as he stomped away with obedience that startled his older brothers, the youngest boy hot on his trail. As soon as the two were inside, they closed the lab doors and exchanged mischievous smiles.

"Plan A worked like a charm!" Mikey chimed happily.

"Shh! Don't let them hear you!" Donnie scolded, "Besides, it didn't go the way we planned. Sorry I had to improvise with the mop thing."

"No problem bro!" Mikey replied, grinning so wide his face threatened to split in half, "What's that about anyways?"

Donatello sighed heavily, setting the mop off to the side, "It's a long story Mike."

* * *

"Hey Leo."

"Yeah Raph?"

"They're hiding something."

"Yup."

"We're gonna find out what it is, right?"

"Yup."


	6. Juguanaut

**Well, this one is a little late... Sorry about that, I rewrote this quite a few times before I got it just right. Please, Let me know what you think of this chapter! I liked how it turned out! **

* * *

"Looks like the place is empty." Leo said as he returned from the apartment he had promised Donnie they would return to this weekend.

"Maybe she just isn't home?" Don pointed out quizzically. Raph narrowed his eyes at his purple clad brother. His tone was right, there was concern and the usual curiosity, but his demeanor was all wrong. Don was undoubtedly worried sick about the girl only days before, pacing and fidgeting constantly. Now that they were here, though, Donatello's posture was way to calm, though he would become rigid whenever one of the older boys looked at him.

"Maybe..." Leo said slowly, sighing softly to himself, "But the yellow room seemed pretty empty, as if whoever lived there had moved out." Don opened his mouth to make another suggestion, but Raphael beat him to it.

"Alright." he stated firmly with an edge of annoyance, "Let's get going then. We've been out for a while now, and there is a whole city to cover still."

Leo nodded and looked over at the tall turtle, "He's right, Don. We checked in, like we agreed, and she isn't here."

"But Leo!" Don started, genuine worry alight in his eyes as he frowned deeply, "What if something happened to her? Shouldn't we keep looking?"

"Yeah, Leo!" Mikey pounced on the opportunity to include himself in the conversation, "What if she gets hurt or kidnapped or killed or raped or-"

"Mikey!" Don snapped, irritated and more than a little shaken up by the possibilities Mike was presenting. Leo just shook his head.

"Look, she said she didn't want our help, its her-"

"Yeah, well if your father disappeared, one of the people who was trying to kidnap you was killed right in front of your eyes, then you were suddenly rescued by a random ninja who appeared to be the murderer, I would imagine you'd be pretty defensive to!" Don quipped angrily, interrupting Leo. The leader in blue could feel the heat rising to his face as his mouth hung open at the disrespect shown by his usually most compliant younger brother.

"I have to agree with the egg-head on that one, bro." Raph chuckled in amusement. It was not every day that Donatello was the one to go against direct orders, that was usually Raph's job. Leo quickly turned to the red wearing ninja.

"You were there Raph! You heard what she said." Leo found words as he faced his more familiar rebel.

"I think we should go look for her!" Mikey said excitedly before Raph could start an argument. Donnie's quick smirk did not go unnoticed by the older boys.

"As previously mentioned, I feel the same." Don followed up with his turtle accomplice. Raph grimaced as he turned to Leo.

"Three against one, bro!" Raph pointed out cheekily.

"So now your on their side?" Leo rolled his eyes in irritation. Raph smirked and nodded. The black haired teen stared down his three younger brothers, "No. It won't do us any good to get involved with civilians. As leader, my decision is final."

Raph felt a twinge of anger as the blue masked teen used his authority over him. Folding his arms and squinting menacingly at Leonardo, Raphael spat his next words out venomously, "Lord behold our 'Fearless Leader'! Gimme a break! Nothing you say can stop us from going if we want to!"

Leo's gaze darkened by several intervals as he locked eyes with his opposer, "Raph, I'm warning you-"

"You go ahead and do that. We're leaving." Leo was interrupted for a second time that night as Raph said the words and abruptly turned to his adopted brothers, "Where do we start?" he asked Don, who glanced nervously over at his oldest brother.

"Uh, well... I guess if she really moved out like Leo said," Don started hesitantly, continuing to look back and forth between both fuming human boys, "Then it would make sense to look around the first place we met her, since her new residence is likely to be close by."

Nodding triumphantly, Raph huffed and set off without a second glance at the others. Mikey smiled and winked at Leo and Don before taking off after his red masked brother. Leo stood with his mouth agape as the two wild teens jumped across the rooftops, then shot an angry glare at Don, who was fidgeting nervously, obviously wanting to follow the others, but waiting to see what Leo was going to do first.

"Thanks for having my back, bro." Leo growled sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and chased after Raph and Mike, realizing it would be better to go with them and keep them out of trouble than to leave them by themselves.

Donnie's shouldered sagged as he reluctantly followed. As they travelled towards their new destination, Leonardo sprinted to the front and began arguing with Raphael, and during their heated debate on their plan of action, Mike slipped back to join his terrapin brother.

"Looks like we got 'em!" Mikey whispered with a giant grin, jerking his head towards the older boys. Don just scowled, averting his mahogany eyes from his little brother. Mikey quickly frowned, "What's wrong?"

"I just... Hate deceiving them like this is all." Don replied almost silently. Mike just stayed silent and continued to travel alongside his guilt stricken brother. Whether he liked to admit it or not, he sympathized with his older brother. Mike loved his two human brothers, idolized them even. He hated lying to them and Splinter, but how was he supposed to prove to them he could do just as much as they could otherwise?

Leo was the first to notice the silence at the back of the group and glanced back at his brooding brothers. Something other than the two sad looking turtles caught his eye, though. One serious glance at Raph was all it took to shut up the boy that was still angrily speaking to him. The four ninjas stopped on their leader's command.

"Yo, Leo? What's up?" Mikey asked, loudly. Leo shushed him harshly and looked around the low, flat roof nervously. Sensing the eldest's unrest, the remaining brothers drew their weapons and took defensive stances. Leo drew a single katana and looked above to the lightly higher rooftops and silently cursed himself for not taking higher ground immediately. After a few minutes of standing still in the cool night breeze, Raph let out a puff of air angrily and sheathed his sai.

"Leo, what the shell is wrong with you?" He said plainly, putting his fists on his hips expectantly. Oddly enough, Raphael's older brother did not retort angrily, but kept his senses alert and weapon drawn.

"I saw a shadow moving on the building behind us." Leo said, relaxing only slightly and finally looking at his siblings, "Let's keep moving."

"Whatever." Raph grumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair. He would never admit it, but he felt as if a foreboding presence had joined their group, and his neck hairs stood on end as he felt eyes burning into the back of his skull. So without further argument, he followed his older brother quietly, making sure to remain alert and concealed.

Leo took his team the long way around to their target location, hoping to shake off whatever may be watching them, if anything was even there. Still, it did not take long for them to reach their destination. Only twenty minutes later and the four were staring at the street where they had first encountered April. It was still dark, the street lamp light bulbs obviously not replaced yet, and it was empty. Leo hummed condescendingly.

"See, I told you it wasn't going to-"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

The three ninjas looked to their leader, one with a smug smirk planted firmly on his face. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Raph." Leo mumbled as the red masked teen shrugged his shoulders. They all took off in the direction of the shouting. Leo once again took the lead, heading in the direction of the yelling and ominous thumping sounds coming from an alley a few buildings down. They slowed as they approached the building closest to the sounds, and edged forwards to look over the parapet and take a look at what was below.

"Whoa, uh... What the shell is that?" Raph gasped as they looked into the alley way. There stood Casey backed against a wall once more, except this time facing undisguised Kraang droids, and what could only be described as a monster.

The beast was pitch black, with glowing red eyes to match the blood dripping from its glistening yellow fangs. It stood on two legs and its body could be likened to that of an iguana, with razor sharp looking spines protruding from its spine.

"Amazing!" Donatello exclaimed, gaining him three bewildered looks. Don blushed slightly, "I mean, horrifying, yes. But magnificent all the same! Its obviously some kind of mutation, probably of the inguandae family, although animals of that specie tend to be herbivourus, so-"

"Juguanaut!" Mikey exclaimed before Raph could tell Don to shut up. Donnie grumbled.

"Juguanaut?" Donnie echoed skeptically, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, he's obviously the Juggernaut of all iguana kind, so..." Mikey said, letting the rest of the team put two and two together. Raph face palmed and sighed with irritation.

"Alright, whatever. Leo, you got a plan for this Juguanuant yet?" Raph asked tiredly, hating how stupid he sounded. Leo nodded hesitantly as Juguanaut let out a deep, reverberating growl.

"Raph, grab Casey and get him out of the way while the rest of us distract the bad guys." Leo said, already positioning himself to leap down below.

"What!? You guys get to have all the fun while I babysit?" Raph complained loudly, earning a shushing from the leader.

"Once you get him someplace safe, you can come back and join us." Leo compromised, then held a hand up so that Raph could not argue any further. The red masked ninja let out an exsasperated groan as they all fell in behind Leo. Raph quickly followed as Leo jumped down from window sill to windowsill until they silently reached the ground, mere feet from their targets. The turtle brothers sat back for a moment and waited for their signal to join in.

"Give Kraang the location of the individual known as April O'neil, or Kraang will instruct the mutation to terminate the individual known as Casey Jones." One of the droids monotonely demanded. Casey, who was panting heavily and holding his bleeding right arm, only had the strength to shake his head in defiance. A beeping sound came from the droid that had just spoken, and it clicked a button on its chest. Instantly, a collar of white light lit up around the black mutant's neck, and it let loose a deafening roar and lunged forwards.

Only to be stopped as twin swords crossed its vision, one slicing into the monster's snout.

Leo stood directly in front of the Juguanaut as Raph swooped in to save the 'damsel' in distress that was Casey. As soon as the two were on their way up the next building's fire escape, the blue masked ninja held up one katana to signal his brothers up above. Instantly the two were in the alley, wielding their weapons as they struck down the enemy.

"Yeah boi!" Mikey yelled, grinning manically as he swung his kusarigama around to hook a robot's head in the sickle and tear it clean off. Whoops of his excitement echoed off the brick walls and out into the streets.

"Mikey! We're ninjas, remember?" Leo hissed as he ducked beneath the Juguanaut's spikey tail that was being swung at him, "Silence is key!"

"Hey robo-dude!" Mikey hollered at one of the Kraang bots, ignoring Leo's ever present lecture, "Came and get me, tin can!" Leo and Donnie rolled their eyes as their youngest brother leapt over a charging Kraang that fell for his taunts. Donatello moved slower, more precisely, and took out several robots when he had the opportunity, but ultimately found a position behind the Juguanaut to attack from.

Carefully calculating the exact moment to engage the reptilian beast, Don waited until its attention was completely centered on Leo. It was when the black mutant sprung in an attempt to bite down on the leader's leg that Don found that opportunity. In one smooth movement, Donnie brought his naginata around to strike the back of the lizard's knees simultaneously, causing the large creature to fall forwards onto its hands.

"Now Leo!" Donnie called, looking up at his human brother. Leo nodded and raised his swords to deal the fatal blow, then suddenly went wide eyed and looked back at Donatello.

"Look out Don! The tail!" Leo yelled, bringing Donnie's attention back to the felled beast, who had raised its tail high. Don backed up as soon as he saw the spikes emerge from the skin, and began twirling his staff as the tail was lashed out like a whip, sending a shower of long, black thorns towards the turtle. Don managed to deflect most of the spikes, but one planted itself firmly into his shoulder.

Adrenaline kept the pain away long enough for Donnie to make it out of the Juguanaut's range, but felt slightly nauseous and dizzy as he did so. His first instinct was to yank the invading needle like weapon from his flesh, but knew doing so could have dire consequences. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long before both of his brothers were at his side.

"I say its time we call for a tactical retreat." Leo suggested, and his youngest brothers nodded wary replies. It was only milliseconds later that the whole alley was filled with purple smoke.

* * *

"Babysitting, really?" Raph grumbled as he carried the injured teen princess style across the rooftops.

"Hey! I don't need no babysitting!" Casey shoved against his savior indignantly. He refused to stop struggling until the red masked ninja came to a stop several buildings away from the fight. Raphael crossed his arms angrily.

"Look, kid-"

"I ain't a kid, neither!" Casey growled as he interrupted Raph and threw his arms into the air, "I'm seventeen for Christ's sake!" The ninja just raised an amused eyebrow.

"Hah. Your a little scrawny to be as old as me." Raph chuckled as he looked over the beat up teen with contempt.

"Ah, shut up. I'm stronger than I look." Casey retorted, waving a hand as if to dismiss the comment, "Hey, ain't you one o' those guys that saved my butt a few nights back?" Raph nodded, "Red, right?" Another nod, "God I mus' look like a pussy to you guys, gettin' beat up all the time."

"Yep, pretty much." Raph laughed, finding Casey more and more entertaining as he spoke to him.

"Hey, those purple dragons were huge, you saw em'!" the battered boy retorted, "And seriously, you expect me to win a fight against friggin' GODZILLA!?"

"Ya got a point there!" Rah laughed even louder, letting it ring loudly before letting it die in its place, "Alright, it was nice to save your ass again, Case, but I gotta run." Raph pointed a thumb over his shoulder in the direction they had just come from.

"Wait!" Casey spoke up before Raph could turn around, "I... I need your help."

"What?" Raph went wide eyed, still edging away as his need to go help his family burned in his chest. Casey sagged considerably low, as if humiliated.

"It's April, I need to go check on her. But if those guys are over at her place already, I might not..." Casey trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. He shook his head full of shaggy black hair vigorously, "No, you know what, never mind. Thanks for the help. You gotta got to your ninja pal." Casey waved and turned quickly to go. Raph sighed as his unwanted conscience nagged at him. He groaned as he walked towards Casey.

"Alright, I'll go with ya. I got business there anyway." He said, momentarily resting a hand on Casey's shoulder. Casey gave him a wide, grateful smile before they took off across the roof.

Raphael was surprised at how easily Casey was able to hop buildings, though the ninja had to slow his pace for the obviously untrained boy. Casey directed them for several blocks. As they drew closer to April's and further from his brothers, Raph became more and more anxious, but was determined not to let it show.

"Alright, this is where she's stayin'." Casey panted as he moved down a fire escape. He was holding his arm tightly against his chest, and was in apparent agony, but Raph was not going to say something right away if Casey was not.

"Looks pretty clear to me." Raph told him as they both inspected either side of the building and met around front. Casey stood and stared at the double doors to the apartment with worry still evident in his expression. Raph finally rolled his eyes, and quite profusely at that.

"Oh for- Just go in there!" Raph shoved Casey forwards. The battered teen shot him an angry look.

"I can't just show up! She still hasn't talked to me or nothin'!" Case argued.

"Fine, where do you live, then?" Raph asked, assuming it was close by since he seemed to know this April chick so well. Casey fidgeted nervously.

"Uh... Well, I actually live in Manhattan." Casey admitted. Raph brought his hands to his head and groaned in irritation.

"That's it! Which apartment is she in?" Raph demanded with abundant ferocity.

"407, why?" Casey replied with suspicion. The red masked teen stomped over and grabbed his wrist, throwing the scrawny teen over his shoulder as he charged inside the building.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Casey yelled and he struggled once more in Raph's arms, but was unable to free himself before Raphael had swiftly ascended four flights of stairs and was standing outside the red head's door. Raph banged against the door with one fist before Casey could say anything. Several awkward and silent moments went by before light footsteps were heard from inside, and the click of the door sounded.

"What the- Casey!?" April yelped, jumping back into the apartment and almost slamming the door shut at the sight of the menacing red wearing ninja.

"Hey, red." Casey mumbled weakly, "I mean, April red, not Red, Red."

"I got it, dip-shit." Raph grumbled as he pushed a hand against the door, "Mind if we step in, this knuckle head here's got cut up pretty bad." April only nodded numbly and Raph forced his way past her, immediately finding an expensive looking leather couch to drop his load.

April noticed the widening red stain on the shredded sleeve of Casey's shirt and fetched a bowl of warm water, scissors, some gauze, and a rag. She set to work cutting away the fabric from a long scratch running down Casey's upper arm, keeping an eye on Raph all the while.

"Alright." Raph said, not wanting a silent atmosphere to overcome the moment, "I got some questions, then I'll leave." April looked away sharply from dabbing Casey's arm with the rag to glare at the ninja.

"YOU have some questions?" April spoke with ferocity, a spark igniting in her eyes, "I'M the one that should be asking questions, like, o, I don't know... WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" her voice rose as she went on until she was practically screaming. Raph raised his arms defensively, running his fingers through his hair.

"Well..." he started, suddenly unsure of himself, "I'm Red, and-"

"No! Don't give me that crap! Who are you really?" She demanded, her eyes hardening with stubbornness. Raph sighed and looked away from her gaze to contemplate what he was going to say next.

"Raphael."

"What?" April said angrily, wondering what he was talking about.

"It's my name, my real name. Raphael, not Red. But you can't tell anybody, or else I'll have to find you again." Raph glared at the two as he made his indirect threat, "I'm a ninja, so don't think you can get away if you leak any info on me. Me and my brother do a little... oh, well I'd guess you'd call it vigilante work." Raph allowed himself a dark chuckle, quite enjoying the look of confusion on April's face, "Me and my bro' just found you on one of our patrols, like we told you before."

"Wait." Casey interjected, "You two have met before?"

"Funny, ain't it. It's a small world, I guess." Raph shrugged, and April shook her head.

"This can't be happening. Gang members, monsters, Dad is gone, and now... ninjas?" April sat back on the couch. She rubbed her temple as if she had a migraine, which Raph did not doubt she did, "What's your last name?" April asked suddenly. Raph frowned.

"Sorry, that's classified." He said, "It's my turn to ask questions next." he paused, gathering up what he wanted to say, and decided to ask the most important one first, "Look. Do you want our help or not? It seems like you two have got yourselves into something big, and I doubt you can get out of it on your own.

April and Casey sat, surprised by the question he chose to ask. Casey immediately knew his answer, but waited for April to reply first. There was a long minute of uninterrupted silence before April slowly made her reply.

* * *

"Oh no, Leeeeooooo!" Mikey drew out the name as panic formed in him, "Is Donnie gonna die? He is isn't he? OR WORSE! He's gonna become a zombie and try to eat out brains and turn us all into zombies! Leo, we have to put him out of his misery before he attacks us all and-"

"MIKEY!" Don reprimanded as he held onto Leo. They were almost at the turnstiles, and had been listening to the youngest's hysterics all the way home, "I told you I'm fine, just dizzy is all." Donnie winced, "And in pain."

"Easy Don." Leo said calmly, then directed Mikey's energy elsewhere, "Mike, go ahead of us and let Splinter know what's going on, and DO NOT blow it out of proportion."

"Can do Leo!" Mikey replied with a salute, perking up as he received his orders. The two sighed in relief as they watched thier brother bolt ahead.

"So, Don. How bad do you think it is?" Leo asked, noticing a lot more weight being put on him as soon as the orange masked turtle was gone. Don had also started breathing a little harder as well.

"N-not bad." Don stuttered as pain shot through his arm, "I think the needle has got some sort of neurotoxin in it, but as long as I don't pull it out the wrong way, most of the toxins shouldn't be released."

"Toxin, as in poison?" Leo said worriedly. He had wondered why Don was so adamant about leaving the foot long spine in its place, "Don... why didn't you say something sooner? Are you sure your going to be alright?" Now Leo was feeling a little panicked.

"Didn' want Mikey to worry." Don said, his words starting to slur slightly. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, "It-its workin' this fast, should be able to take it out without problems."

Leo also shook his head as he quickened his pace, seeing the familiar turnstiles come into view. By the time they got inside the lair and settled into the pit, which was not long, Don was groaning and clutching his stomach in pain, unable to hide is unrest any longer.

Splinter seemed to appear out of nowhere, gentle making his eldest son step aside with a gentle paw on the teen's shoulder. Leo willingly obliged, letting his father take over the turtle's care. Splinter hummed as he inspected the wound, which was swelling around the punctured area and becoming quite red. The rat then pressed his ear against Don's chest.

"E-erratic heartbeat." Donatello mumbled. Splinter soothingly shushed him and laid a paw on his warm forehead.

"Be still, my son." Splinter spoke softly. It was at that moment that Raphael burst into the scene.

"There you guys are! I was worried sick- What the hell? What happened to Donnie?" Raph yelled, receiving a stern glance from Splinter for his profanity.

"Juguanaut got him." Mikey answered sadly, casting his eyes to the ground. Raph's mouth hung open, and Leo just nodded his affirmation.

"Vision blurring, labored breathing..." Donnie said as he gasped for air, he turned his head awkwardly, knocking off his sensei's hand, "P-paralysis... Leo..."

"Donnie, what's happening pal?" Leo said, coming in close as his brother called his name, all the while trying to maintain his composure as leader. They were all starting to become anxious and desperate as Donatello's condition took a turn for the worse. The only thing that kept them calm was their sensei's collected attitude, and the light that was still visible in the inflicted turtle's eyes, letting them know he was still with them.

"'nti-venom, in the... mini-fridge. R-rattlesnake, vile number two. Get a- a syringe." Don stammered in between gasps for air. Leo quickly nodded before he set off to go retrieve the items from the lab. Don turned his eyes to Splinter, drawing in a deep yet shaky breath, "Pull it out." He said.

Splinter nodded as well, and Mikey had to look away as the rat swiftly did as he was told. a squelching noise came from the wound that made all present cringe. Donatello took one look at the barbed end of the thorn like shaft and groaned.

"Oh. Shell." He grumbled before passing out.

"LEO!" Mikey screamed, becoming absolutely hysterical at this point. Raph punched the back of the couch and began pacing back and forth as his anxiety got the best of him.

"I got it!" Leo called as he sprinted from Don's lab with a full syringe in one hand, "Don, how do I- Shell! He's out cold!" Leo cursed, only glancing at the bloodied needle in his father's hand before guessing what had happened. With his other brothers in a panic, and one seemingly dying, Leo took a chance with what little medical knowledge he had and grabbed Donnie's arm, bending it back until be could see a large purple vein in the crook of the turtle's elbow. He jabbed the point of the needle in and pumped the anti-venom into Donnie's system. As soon as it was emptied, Leo stood back and watched his brother carefully, as if expecting him to be cured instantly.

"Settle, Leonardo." Splinter said calmly as he brought the couch pillows up from off the floor and placed them under Donnie's upper body to elevate it, "Patience is needed for healing to take place." Leo nodded numbly, not believing how fast everything was happening, "Do not worry, my sons. I sense Donatello's chi is already coming back into place, a sure sign that he is recuperating already."

"So he's gonna be okay?" Mikey asked in a small voice. Splinter smiled softly as he nodded. Mikey sighed with relief and trudged over to the couch, sitting on his knees in Splinter's place as the rat stood up. The youngest boy rest his chin on the edge of the couch, looking at his immediate older brother with worry still etched into his features.

* * *

**R&R! Love you guys, and I want to know if you love this story! :D Or just like it... Or hate it... whatever, you know. :)**


	7. Unequal

_Donnie sat alone on the couch, watching the television's weak signal with utter disappointment. The seven-year old fidgeted with the broken antenna in his hand that once belonged to the makeshift cable box he had rigged for his family only two days before. Now it lay in the palms of his tiny hands, snapped from its place by his immediate older brother, who got frustrated when he could not get a signal and became to rough with the thin metal._

_Donnie sighed deeply as he brought his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly while keeping his grasp on the antenna. It had taken him weeks to instruct his big brothers what materials he needed to build the machine, and weeks more to actually assemble it. Donnie had been so happy with the praise he received from his Father and human siblings. Now that his present was ruined, he would no longer hear that praise every time Leo turned to Space Heros, or Raph his wrestling matches, or the gratitude Splinter would express for distracting Mikey with silly cartoons while he meditated._

_"Donnie?" Mikey whispered into his ear, making the older turtle jump slightly. He looked at his younger, orange wearing brother, noticing the worry on his face. Don immediately straightened up, not wanting his only little brother to fret over him._

_"What is it, Mikey?" Don asked, placing the metal stick down to run his hand over the six-year-old turtle's scalp._

_"Are you sad?" Mikey asked innocently, looking up at the older turtle with his eye ridges knitted together. The purple masked turtle put on the best smile he could manage._

_"I'm not sad. I was just thinking is all." Don explained. When his younger tilted his head to the side, he explained further, "About how to fix the cable box. Nothing to worry about, bro." Mikey still had a dissatisfied air about him, but seemed to accept the fact as he smiled back and nodded._

_"Alright! Thanks Donnie!" Mikey said, "Your inventions are awesome!"_

_"Technically I didn't invent anything. But... Your welcome." The older turtle smiled for real this time, watching as his only little brother scurried off, suddenly becoming distracted by something else. Donnie sighed. He could repair the television, it would just take a long while before he got it fully functional again. Sagging low, Donatello trudged off towards the lab, his newest gift from Splinter that had inspired him to build the device in the first place._

_He entered the large and spacious room sullenly, walking over to his desk that was covered with random parts and pieces of electronic devices that he had been collecting for the past three months to finish the box. Amongst all the bits sat the machine in question, one lonely antenna sticking straight up from the middle of the rectangular prism. The tiny turtle reached for a roll of duct tape that had found its way to the floor, taking his disembodied antenna and sticking it back in its place. With one hand on the thin metal, Donatello used his teeth to pull out and tear off a long strip of the silvery tape, carefully wrapping it around the broken area in an attempt for a quick fix. He stood back apprehensively, grabbing the remote to the box and pushing the power button. Green lights flashed on the LCD screen that read "No Signal" in block letters. Don groaned._

_"This would be so much easier if I had help." He mumbled, reaching forwards to adjust the angle of the antenna and waiting for a few minutes to see if the signal reading would improve. Don hated the idea of sitting here for possibly hours, trying to find the perfect angle through a series of trial and error. Even when he did, the duct tape would not withstand Raph's wrath, so he would have to carefully weld the antenna in place._

_"Don?" Speaking of Raph, the eleven year old boy peeked his head around the edge of the door, his brown hair spiky and sticking in all directions. Don resisted the urge to growl at his wrecking ball of an older brother._

_"Yeah, Raph?" Don replied calmly, not looking up from his experimenting. The other boy huffed, stepping into the room all the way and making it over to Don's work station._

_"You almost fixed that thing yet?" Raph asked impatiently. Donnie bit his tongue to hold back an angry retort, and shook his head. Raph grunted at that, tapping his fingers in an infuriating manner against the tabletop. Donatello tried his best to ignore the incessant sounds, but became distracted and accidentally pushed the antenna to hard, causing the tape to bend and ruin his experiment. At once, the purple masked child was angered. He slammed his open palms onto the table, startling his older sibling._

_"Raphael. I am trying to work, and since you obviously are not here to help. Get out." Don said with more patience than he was feeling, "Or did you want to make it harder for me to fix it? Go ahead, smash it to pieces. See if I care!" Now the turtle was standing back from the device, gesturing towards it with all six fingers._

_At first, Raphael seemed a bit taken aback by this outburst, but he was quick to come back to his fighting senses, "Hey. Don't take that tone with me, Dorkatello. All I came in here for was to see if you had finished the thing already!"_

_"Then WHY are you still here?" Donnie yelled, throwing up his arms dramatically. This question put Raph into a fluster, crossing his arms and looking at the ground suddenly as though he was reluctant to answer._

_"...m'ssy"_

_"What?"_

_"I'm sorreehh..."_

_"Just spit it out, man!"_

_"I'm sorry! Okay?" Raph finally got out the apology, throwing his hands up just as his younger brother had. Don could only stand with his mouth agape, stunned that his normally stubborn and hardheaded brother would actually apologise to him. Raph seemed to read the turtle's mind and rolled his eyes, "Don't make a big deal out if it, kay? I just... Saw how you looked so down about the thing. And I know you've been workin' on it for a while now..." Raph ran his fingers through his hair and furrowed his brows, "Forgive me?"_

_The purple masked turtle did not say anything for a few moments, taking in the rare occasion. It was not often that he received heartfelt words from his immediate older brother. But Donatello knew better than to take them for granted. Slowly but surely, a wide grin spread across his features, "Apology accepted, Raphie." He giggled. Raph punched his arm playfully._

_"Don't call me that!" He grumbled, returning the smile with obvious relief. Soon the smile turned into a frown, "Don't tell the others I got all soft on ya." The brunette spoke warningly. Donnie jus waved him off with a smile. Raph kicked the ground awkwardly, as if he still wanted to say something but did not know how to. Don sighed._

_"Want to help me fix it?" he asked, trying not to be to obvious in helping his brother out, "It'll get done faster if I had some help." Raph perked up at the opportunity._

_"Sure! Just show me what to do brainiac!" Raph said as he jabbed a thumb into his chest, "I'm the best man for the job!" Don laughed at the notion._

_"Second to me, you mean!" Raph snorted as Donatello said this, but smiled anyways. For the next few hours the two boys laboured over the handmade cable box, Raphael adjusting the angle of the antenna while Donatello recorded the results and directed the operation._

_"Hey... Raph?" Don spoke hesitantly as his older brother carefully moved the metal stick. He hummed a reply, too focused on not breaking the object a second time to reply with words, "I'm... I'm glad your my older brother."_

_"What?" Raph said, looking up quickly. Don blushed slightly._

_"I mean, of course there are times I'm not fond of your choice of actions. You break my things all the time, yell at all of us, get us into trouble, beat me and Mikey up, spit into our food when we're not-"_

_"Okay! Geez, get to the point already!" Raph groaned. Don blushed harder and bit his lip apologetically._

_"I'm just saying, even with all that stuff, I wouldn't have it any other way." Don finished, quickly looking down at his notes and pretending to scribble something down. Silence reigned for several embarrassing moments before the older boy replied._

_"Same here, bro. I couldn't ask for better brothers if I wanted to."_

_..._

_"Don't tell anyone I said that either."_

* * *

Donatello groggily woke up from the memory. He wanted to groan as he felt a deep ache throughout his body and in his head, but found his throat was to dry to do so. His eyelids seemed glued together, but eventually he managed to pry them open. Harsh light met his eyes, though his vision was blurry. Don could hear light snoring, which meant Mikey was sleeping nearby. Actually, judging from the weight on his chest and upper arms, his younger brother was literally laying across him. Forcing a few blinks, Donatello's vision finally began to clear, revealing the ceiling of the pit before him.

With much effort and agonizing pain, the turtle lifted his head ever so slightly to confirm his suspicion that Mikey was indeed sleeping across his chest, hands tucked into the couch cushions for support while his head lay against Don's plastron. His face was turned so that the older turtle could see it, and was slightly appalled at the sight of drool trickling from Mikey's mouth to his helpless plastron. Donatello did not have full control over his muscles, which felt like lead at the moment, so he just accepted defeat and slumped back, turning his hed towards the back of the couch.

If the sight of his little brother was expected, then the sight of his older brother startled Don incredibly. He was amazed to see Raphael precariously lying on the back of the couch, his brows knitted together tightly as he slept. He was on his side, arms and legs crossed, in the most uncomfortable looking position Don had ever seen his brother sleep in. Granted, Raph could sleep anywhere, no problem, but never so close to someone else.

"Awake, are we?" Came Leo's voice from below. Don laboriously turned his head to see Leonardo leaning against the couch, stretching with a silent yawn. Don tried to reply, but only managed to get out an airy cough, "Oh, hold on." Leo whispered, standing up and running to the kitchen. He returned moments later with a glass of water. The older teen gently moved the cup to Don's dry lips, and the turtle greedily gulped down the precious liquid with no shame.

"Thanks." He said in a gravelly voice once his throat was thoroughly coated. Leo smiled and nodded, gazing at him in a strange manner, "What?"

"Nothing." Leo said, his smile growing wider, "Just glad you're okay. You had us really worried there for a second." Don managed a weak scoff and let his head slump back.

"Donnie?" came a sleepy mumble as Mikey shifted. The smaller turtle sat up slowly, wiping his arm across his face to rid it of the drool. His half closed eyes seemed glazed over with sleep for a few moments as they rested on Don's face. Suddenly Mikey bolted to a stand, "Donnie! Raph! Donnie's up!" He yelped excitedly, shoving the still sleeping boy. Raph made a strange sound as he rolled off the back of the couch and on to the hard floor.

"Mikey!" Came the furious roar as Raph shot up and leaped over the couch without warning, tackling the youngest boy to the floor, "What the shell was that for!" He yelled. His emerald eyes followed Mikey's gaze until he met the amused mahogany one staring at him from the couch, "Oh! Hey! Don's awake!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Mikey shot out angrily. Raph just laughed and got off of the turtle, not bothering to help him up. Leo rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Guys, can't you tone it down just a little?" the leader asked, "Don doesn't need all of this when he just woke up."

"Its fine, Leo." Don said, lifting his arm slowly to wave it off. He tried not to wince at the pain, but apparently it was evident because his brothers immediately grew quieter.

"D-do you need anything?" Mike asked innocently, his voice shaking slighty. Don held in a sigh. This was the exact opposite of what he wanted. He hated to have his little brother worried about him. Don could not explain it really, but just seeing the look of fear and concern etched into his brother's features bugged Don to no end.

"Yeah, actually, could I see your mask for a second?" Don asked, drawing out the words to make it sound as if he were needy. Mikey unhesitatingly did so, untying the orange cloth and placing it in his brother's waiting open palm, "Thanks." Don said with a soft smile. Then he moved as quickly as he could manage to wipe off the puddle of slobber on his chest with the cloth.

"Hey!" Mikey interjected angrily as he snatched the mask away, "Oh! Gross!" The younger turtle held out the drenched material with his tongue sticking out. Donnie and Raph laughed, while Leo looked on disapprovingly.

"Its your spit, goofball. Relax, guys I'm fine." Donnie assured, "Mikey, could you go get me some ibuprofen please?"

"I'll do that. And wash my mask too." Mikey said while rolling his eyes, though the playfulness was still there. Soon the turtle was off for the restroom to fulfill the request. Leo got serious soon after.

"Really, Donnie. Are you sure your okay?" Leo asked with deep concern. Don sighed.

"I'm in some pain, and my muscles don't seem to want to respond, but I have feeling so I'm not paralyzed or anything." Don sensed the tense atmosphere grow as he spoke, and he struggled to recover it, "Can you guys help me sit up before Mikey comes back?"

"Sure." Leo said as he and Raph came to their bother's aid, using the pillows to support the weakened turtle. Don cracked his neck as he rolled it from side to side, wriggling his toes and rolling his shoulders as the heaviness lifted from them slightly.

"Definitely neurotoxins." Don told his oldest brother with knowing smile. Leo managed to chuckle a bit, leaving Raph with an annoyed look. Soon Mikey came bounding back in (without his mask still), excited to see his brother sitting up and not in his feeble state. After he had taken four of the painkillers, Don spoke again, "What time is it?"

"Huh? Its five thirty in the morning, why?" Leo answered. Don's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I've only been asleep for five hours?" he said in bewilderment. All three of his brothers exchanged a nervous glance that Donatello picked up on instantly, "I haven't been out for only a few hours, have I?"

"Well... You see..." Leo started cautiously. Raph huffed impatiently.

"What Fearless here is trying to say, is that you've been out cold for three days." Raph explained, "Its Tuesday."

"What!?" the newly awakened turtle exclaimed, unable to believe his misfortune. Raph snickered a bit.

"Yeah, Mikey here was so hung up about it that he almost kissed you to see if you'd wake up!" Raph laughed, and Mikey huffed.

"Hey! It worked in Sleeping Beauty!" the maskless turtle defended, which only made Raph laugh even more. Don just looked fearfully at his younger brother, who noticed and held up his hands defensively, "Almost! Almost! I didn't actually do it!"

"Oh thank goodness." Donnie sighed out in relief. They all laughed for a while, taking in each other's company gratefully, "Thanks for saving me, guys." Don said as they all quieted down.

"It was all Leo and Splinter, dude!" Mikey said with a grin, then pointed a thumb in Raph's direction, "He wasn't even in the fight."

"Shut up, Mikey." Raph interjected with a growl, "We're just glad your okay, bro. Like I said, you really worried us there."

"Was I really that bad?" Don asked, a bit embarrassed with all the drama he seemed to have caused, "I felt pretty bad, but I could think straight enough. Well, until Splinter pulled that thorn out of my shoulder..." Don trailed off as he carefully lifted hand to absently touch the bandaging taped around the puncture wound.

"We've never had one of us in that kind of situation before." Leo sighed, "And even under... Normal circumstances, it would have been life threatening. If you hadn't had the right anti-venom..."

"I didn't." Don added as his bother trailed off. Leo gave him a confused look, s he expanded further, "Like I told you before I passed out, that was rattlesnake anti-venom. I have no idea what was in my system from that mutant, which was definitely not of the crotalus genus in any way shape or form, but more likey from the iguanidae family like I hypothesised earlier. For all I know, it could have been vile one that we needed instead of two. But all of the symptoms were pointing to neurotoxins instead of hemotoxins, thank goodness. I'd definitely be in trouble if the venom was predominantly hemotoxin, though I don't doubt that what I was exposed to was a combination of both. I need to inspect my wound to know, really..." Don trailed off when he realized he had not been interrupted yet, which was very unusual when he went on a scientific ramble. His older brothers were staring at him with, slightly confused, but mostly horrified expressions, "What?"

"Y-you mean... You didn't know if the injection I gave you was the right one?" Leo said in utter disbelief. Don felt where this was going, and tried to shrug it off as if it was not a big deal.

"I didn't have much time to think, Leo." Don reasoned, "But I was fully aware of-"

"Fully aware my non-existent shell!" Raph shouted the late interruption, "You were completely out of it, rambling on and looking like death! You just guessed!"

"It's a good thing turtles are lucky then!" Mikey laughed, trying to break up the atmosphere that was no doubt about to settle in.

"Lucky? Lucky!" Raph laughed darkly, "If anything, these last two trips have proved how unlucky you two are!"

Donnie and Mikey flinched harshly at the same time, causing Raph to suck in his breath at the realization of what he had just said. The look on his face made it clear that he wanted to rewind time and stop himself from speaking those words, but only found himself with a foot in his mouth.

"Look, guys." Leo sighed, taking in the sight of his forlorn brothers, "Raph didn't mean it like that." Don shook his head angrily while Mikey shrank further into himself, "But... He did bring up something we've been talking to Splinter about."

Purple mask tails swung around wildly as Don snapped his attention to Leo, realization obvious on his face.

"Wait a second. You can't mean..." the genius turtle started, his intelligent brain already piecing together Raph and Leo's words. Leo bit his lip knowingly, and Don's eyes lit p with fury, "Mikey. Get my staff." The younger turtle looked back and forth between the stare down Leo and Don were now having.

"What? What's happen-"

"Now! I have to speak with Father." Don snapped at his brother, who whimpered slightly and turned to leave, but was stopped by Raph's grasp.

"Donnie, don't be like this." Raph said firmly, an unreadable expression in his eyes. Don snorted angrily.

"Guys. WHAT is going on?" Mikey pleaded for understanding, and Leo finally gave him the answer.

"Both of you should stay underground for a while longer." Leo said, still keeping his gaze locked with Donatello's, whose eyes seemed to be a fiery red color at the moment, "Master Splinter was going to tell you, but I figure now is just a good a time as any. You're obviously not ready to go topside yet, and with all the crazy stuff happening in New York right now, it'd be better to lay low."

Mikey's mouth went agape, and Don's eyes narrowed sharply.

"But, but..." Mikey stammered, trying to find the right words, "We just- You can't... This isn't fair!" he finally got out, shoving Raph off of him with more force than he intended, but the teen managed to keep his ground.

"Listen, it's not forever, just until everything settles down and you've had a bit more training-" Leo said hurriedly, only to be cut off by Donatello for the second time in two weeks.

"What about April!? She's just a civilian, and she's in trouble!" Don shouted, "How can you expect us to stay down here when there are people in danger?"

"It's New York Donnie!" Raph stated plainly, "Everyone is always in danger. Besides, I talked to the chick again, and she said she didn't want no part of us."

"Who cares?" Don rose his voice even more, not even questioning the fact that Raph spoke to the red-head again, "It's not a matter of her wanting to be helped or not. It could be life or death and you expect me to sit back and choose death?"

"Hey! It ain't your job in the first place! You haven't even met the girl really, and you don't have a choice in the matter!" Raph shouted back, "I don't understand why you're so hung up on this when-"

"Oh, I dunno Raph!" Don intervened loudly, "Maybe it's because I've been living in the sewers for fourteen years and this is the first time I've ever had the chance to do something that matters!"

This last statement left all present in silence. Don was panting at this point with ragged breaths, and soon went into a coughing fit. Everyone was too shocked to notice the presence of a rat in the room.

"Michelangelo." Splinter spoke slowly, causing three boys to jump like startled cats, "Help Donatello to his room."

"Master Splinter." Mikey said sadly, looking fo comfort from his father.

"Go. I will speak to you both momentarily. Mikey nodded and quickly went to his brother's side, helping him stand and guiding him to his room, both turtles keeping their eyes averted from their family all the way.

"Leonardo. Raphael." Splinter spoke sharply as soon as the sound of a door shutting sounded, "I instructed you to wait until I decided it was the proper time to address the situation."

"Hai, Sensei." Leo responded sadly, "I know. But it seemed to come up naturally."

"That may be, but Donatello has only just recovered, and you three have been tense for the past few days. The atmosphere could have been better." Splinter told his eldest sternly, then turned to his second son, "You, Raphael, need to learn to bridle your tongue. Your words have caused unnecessary strife."

Splinter waited for the words to sink into his sons, watching them visibly wilt with guilt.

"Unless it is of absolute necessity, you will not be going to the surface." Both boys looked up suddenly, eyes wide. Raphael opened his mouth to object, but Splinter already knew what was coming, "No patrol. No outings. Only trips to the market, and to assist Murakami-dono."

"Hai, Sensei." both boy's shoulders sagged, and the tall rat sighed.

"I refuse to treat you four unequally any longer. Their restrictions are yours, and yours theirs. You will rise and fall as one. No objections."

* * *

**Mikey: Well... That escalated quickly.**

**Don: Real quick.**

**Mikey: What now?**

**Me: You all die.**

**Don/Mikey: Hah?**

**Me: Hehe, just kidding... Maybe...**

**Don/Mikey: o.0**


	8. Fate

"Unlucky, huh?" Don spat the words out furiously, going over the things he should have come back with from the argument he had with his brothers only hours before. Mikey sat solemnly at the end of his bed, listening to the purple masked turtle rant as he lay immobile under the covers, "Unlucky to be born as a turtle? To be sentient yet never considered human? Or, how about unlucky that we will never have a normal life?"

"Dude, let it go..." Mikey said tiredly. He felt drained and, dare he say, depressed even. Don shot him an angry glare that would have been a lot more menacing had he been able to move.

"No! I won't 'let it go' Mikey! And you shouldn't either!" the older turtle argued, "Even if Master Splinter did ground Raph and Leo as well, it's not like anything has changed!" Mikey tilted his head quizzically.

"Whaddya mean by that?" he asked, honestly puzzled. He thought they had made pretty great progress. Being able to go out at all was a blessing, and Leo said it was not going to be for long, although Mikey would prefer they had not been grounded at all.

"I mean, we are back at square one! Going topside was supposed to change things fo us. But in the end, no one can make up their mind on whether or not to trust us." Don growled as an alternative to screaming out in anger, "Leo wants us to lay low until the city is safer, but Raph said it's always dangerous. They don't want us to get into fights, but they take us on patrol to look for trouble. We aren't allowed to fight alongside our brothers, but we are supposed to have their back!" Don groaned and shut his eyes, "Nothing anyone says makes any sense, it's so contradictory."

"What are we supposed to do about it, then?" Mikey asked, having listened intently to his immediate older brother for once. He could not remember the last time Donatello had opened up his true feelings to him like this.

"I can't do anything at the moment." Donatello said, struggling to sit up suddenly with a dark smile on his face that one would expect to find on an evil villain and not their most passive brother, "But you, Mikey, are going to do something in two days, at five o'clock."

* * *

Leo flopped onto his back as his legs were kicked from underneath him, rolling to the side quickly to escape a foot aimed at his head. He stood quickly and blocked the fist coming in his direction with his forearm, and another as a second fist was thrown. The coal-black haired teen found an opprotunity to strike back, and aimed for the black glasses covering the slightly plump face with a spinning back-kick. The kick as expertly blocked, though, as his foot became trapped between the man's forearms, and he was quickly felled once more. This time Leonardo made no effort to stand back up, completely exhausted and knowing he had lost.

"Yame!" was called out by Raphael from where he sat on the sidelines, grinning wickedly, "Awesome Mr. Murakami! You totally beat the snot outta Leo, again!"

"Thank you Raphael-kun." the blind man said with a smile as he straightened up from his striking position. He held out a hand to the teen on the ground and helped him up before turning to the crowd of children behind him, "This ends the demonstration of how to use gekisai dai ichi kata offensively and defensively in true combat. I hope you have learned from Leonardo-san's example?"

"Never pick a fight with an old blind man?" a little girl with blonde twin pigtails and freckled face said teasingly, causing the rest of the class to giggle.

"Ha. Ha." Leo deadpanned, straightening his black colored belt that had been twisted around his white Gi, "Very funny Masolin."

"I thought it was funny!" Raph laughed as he leaned over and high-fived the twelve-year-old.

"Do not make fun of Leonardo-san, he is a highly skilled ku-dan, while you are a shi-kyu." the sensei of the class explained kindly, "My skill cannot be measured by mere levels, you should not compare Leonardo-san to me." Leo rolled his eyes and Raph snickered, causing Murakami to seemingly look in his direction, "Or would you, Raphael-kun, like to show the class how a hachi-dan matches up against my skill?"

At that, the brunette fell silent, going wide-eyed, "Uhh... Isn't it about time to let out Mr. Murakami, its five thirty already..." He fumbled for the words to get out of a spar with the karate master.

"Ah, is it, now?" Murakami questioned thoughtfully, "Oh well, I guess it is time for class to end." Raphael cheered inwardly, "Raphael-kun will demontrate for us next week." The blind man smiled as Raphael groaned loudly. The children all giggled as they stood and bowed. After being dismissed, the rowdy kids all ran off to the locker rooms to freshen up and dress so that they could meet their parents who waited in their cars outside of the small dojo.

"Thank you for the spar, Murakami-san." Leo said as he folded the foam mats alongside his younger brother after the building had been emptied of young ones.

"It is my pleasure, Leonardo." Murakami replied in his thick accent as he dropped the honorifics, "But something seems to be troubling you boys, no?"

"Well..." Leo sighed, he could never hide anything from their second sensei. Even though his sight was long gone, his other senses were very in tune, making him not only a great karate master, but highly intuitive as well, "You could say we have gotten into a bit of trouble with Father at home."

"You have gotten into trouble with Yoshi?" Murakami said in bewilderment, "That is very unusual for you, Leonardo. Not so much Raphael really. ("Hey!") What did you do, if I may ask?" Leo sighed once again, it was always difficult to explain things to Murakami, a good friend of his Father's since before the rat was a rat.

The two Japanese men had lived in neighboring villages in Japan, and moved to New York at the same time. Splinter had stopped visiting Murakami when he was mutated, but had let the two boys continue to take karate lessons at the blind man's dojo and work there all along. Raphael and Leonardo were allowed to tell Murakami that they had adopted brothers, but not that they and their father were mutated. As far as Murakami knew, Yoshi was still human, but was very sick and could no longer get around as he used to, and their human little brothers were working elsewhere and had no interest in karate.

Murakami on several occasions had asked to visit Yoshi, or invited their brothers to take lessons for free at the dojo. After being rejected or kindly refused about a hundred times, the pudgy man got the hint and stopped asking. Leo knew, though, that Murakami knew something was not right, and would often give the two boys bonuses or feed them some of his famous noodles, in an effort to elicit more information from them no doubt.

"We got into a fight two days ago, and both of our otouto were involved, resulting in one of them being severely injured," Leo rose his hands to stop the man from interrupting worriedly, as if he could see, "He's perfectly fine now, but Father grounded us all for the time being."

"I see." Murakami stated after a few seconds, "But that is not what troubles you, is it?"

"No." Leo admitted, "We... I got into a fight with Donatello. I said some things I regret speaking." The teen glumly finished as he picked up the mat he had folded and carried it to the corner of the room to start a stack of them.

"Don't beat yourself up to much, bro." Raph grumbled as he followed, "I said some things I shouldn't have, too. Mikey and Don probably hate my guts right now."

"You have hurt your brother's feelings, no doubt." Murakami hummed thoughtfully with a nod, "Does this bother you because you have not apologized, or because he will not listen to your apology."

Both boys groaned simultaneously at the dead on comment.

"Seriously, Mr. Murakami? Are you sure being blind for so long hasn't made you psycic or something?" Raph accused with slight annoyance.

"Raph!" Leo scolded, "Sorry, Murakami-san, Raph was just trying to say that it's a little bit of both, actually."

"That is fine, Leonardo!" Murakami laughed, "You boys obviously care for your younger siblings very much, to the point where it distracted you in our spar."

"Really?" Leo blinked in suprise, thinking he had complete focus during their 'demonstration' earlier.

"Really. Your footing was slightly off, and you wasted much more movement on your counter than was necessary." Murakami explained. Raphael huffed.

"Only you would notice." the temperamental teen pointed out, "Oh, and by the way, would you please quit calling me a hachi-dan already? We only look like black belts when we fight against a monster like you!" This comment, although an obvious derailer to the current conversation, made Murakami laugh.

"What else would I have to compare you with, hachi-dan?" Murakami teased, "I simply can not allow my pupils to believe you outrank them so much when you are only slightly older than they are. Besides, I see how you two hold back when sparring with the other black belts. You yourselves do not want the recognition."

"Pff... Whatever." Raph said bashfully, a bit embarrassed that he had been caught hiding his true skill, "It's just to give them a chance is all..." Leo and Murakami laughed lightheartedly at the abashed teen before Murakami kindly let them leave earlier than usual.

"Please, go and be with your family if you are troubled, I can finish things up here." Murakami insisted when the two teens had objected, "I'm blind, not helpless."

After some more persuasion, the two boys washed up and dressed in their usual all black outfits, the one suspicious thing Murakami would never be able to question. As they were getting dressed and folding their Gi, Raphael sighed long and hard.

"What?" Leo asked, finding it unusual for Raphael to make such a forlorn sound. His younger brother shook his head.

"Mr. Murakami doesn't know how to be subtle, does he?" Raph sighed once again, causing Leo to twist his face in repulsion.

"Like you know how to be subtle! And quit doing that!" Leo said sternly.

"Doing what?" Raph asked defensively, a growl forming in his words.

"Acting like you just found out you have prostate cancer!" Leo said, "You're so mopey! It's not like you at all."

"You're one to talk." Raph snorted, "You've been on edge ever since the first time we left the lair with those two." Leo stiffened immediately, and Raph prepared himself for a fight. He was surprised when Leo's gaze darkened and his tone turned deadly serious.

"I know." He said, "I have a bad feeling that whatever Mikey and Don have been hiding lately, is going to get worse." Raph did not comment on this, but he felt like this too; that their younger brothers were up to no good, and it was only going to get worse now that they were fighting. "Also... I've felt an ominous presence ever since that first night out with Don and Mike. It was especially strong this past Saturday." Raph rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Are you still going on about that rooftop scare we had?" the brunette asked, still not willing to admit he had felt the same thing that night, "It was just your imagination, bro."

"Maybe." Leo said, unconvinced. He unzipped his backpack and fit his Gi into it neatly. His swords were fully sheathed and attached to the backpack, of which Raph had a matching. Raph pulled out his sais from its dark depth and fit them into his otherwise unused belt loops, then crammed his own Gi into it. Both boys took their colored masks from the backpacks as well, stuffing the bits of cloth into their pockets before heading out. They said their goodbyes one more time to Murakami before stepping through the door.

"Masolin?" Leo said in surprise as he found the girl still standing outside. She jumped a little when the ninja subconsciously snuck up on her.

"Oh, uh, hi Leonardo-san!" the child said quickly, Leo noticed her attempt to wipe her nose with he bright pink sweater sleeve.

"Where's your Dad? He's usually here by now." He asked, looking up and down the street for any signs of the familiar beat up, dark green Saturn.

"Oh, uhm, h-he..." Masolin stammered, her eyes shining with tears that threatened to overflow at any moment. The little girl looked at her feet quickly and sniffed, "Daddy can't come to pick me up anymore..." The girl choked out a sob at the end of her sentence, and the two boys exchanged nervous glances. Raph knelt down and lifted the tiny face up by the chin, looking into her eyes, which were mysteriously identically colored to Donatello's, though Raph knew it was just coincidence.

"Where do you need to go?" He asked, wiping off a tear as it streaked down her freckled cheek.

"104b, Harvey Way." Masolin said mechanically, "The little pet shop. My mom owns the place."

"Hey, I know where that is!" Raph said with forced enthusiasm, "Isn't that on our way home, Leo?"

"Sure is, Raph." Leo said, with an equally fake sounding tone. Masolin smiled a bit and shoved Raph playfully.

"I'm not a baby, quit talking to me like that." she said, folding her arms.

"Alright, little grump." Raph teased, standing up with a smile, "Why don't you let us take you home."

"I dunno..." Masolin said slowly in mock disagreement.

"Fine, see ya then!" Raph waved as he turned around, grabbing Leo by the arm and walking away a few steps.

"Wait!" the pigtailed girl called, running after them and wriggling her way in between the larger boys, "Fine, I'll let you take me home, but Dad said I had to watch out for boys, cause they're trouble. So don't try anything funny." She huffed dramatically. Leo and Raph laughed loudly, and the younger teen snatched the girl up suddenly, causing her to squeal.

Raph swung her thin frame over his head, so that she was sitting on his shoulders. She laughed with delight and kicked his chest as she wrapped her arms around his head, covering his eyes.

"Woah, Mass! Can't see here!" Raph said, swinging his arms about wildly and purposely stumbling around.

"No excuses!" Masolin cried, "Onward, my steed!"

They all laughed and continued on this way as they made the trip to Masolin's destination. When they finally arrived at the tiny pet shop on the corner, Raph and Leo quieted down significantly.

"What? What is it?" Masolin asked, leaning around to look at Raph's blank face as he stared at the pet shop's sign, which read "Deb's Exotic Pets".

"Leo, you gettin' deja vu here?" he asked his older brother, ignoring the little girl's question, to her dismay.

"Yeah, major deja vu." Leo answered. They both jumped out of their spacey attitudes as the glass door covered on the inside with fake plastic vines swung open quickly, and a woman with long, wavy blonde hair and a green work smock on scrambled out. She took no notice of the boys as she fumbled around with a key ring loaded with thirty different colored, jangling keys, cursing as she fit one into the lock of the door and not being able to push it in all the way.

The woman was mumbling to herself with panicked tones, "Stupid keys! Shit, I'm so late. Mass is gonna be so-"

"Mom?" Masolin said loudly, causing the woman to swing around in surprise, her eyes wide.

"Mass!" She yelped, throwing her arms dramatically into the air, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I'm late! I got hung up with a customer that got bit by a garter snake, and he started freaking out because he thought it was venomous. Oh, gosh, the police were here and everything! I'm so sor-"

"Mom! Mom! Its okay, I get it!" Masolin laughed nervously as Raph put her down. The mother sighed and hugged her daughter, looking as if she were about to cry, "I-I'm gonna go inside, okay?" Masolin said hesitantly, pushing quickly away from her mother and not waiting for a reply. Once the girl was inside, the woman sighed and turned to the two boys.

"Thank you for bringing her here." the blonde lady replied, "It means a lot to me that you did that."

"It was nothing, really." Leo said, rubbing the back of his head. Raph just smiled akwardly and ran his fingers through his hair.

"No. You don't understand." she insisted, her eyes beginning to water, "Her father just died in an accident, and I am fighting for custody with her step-mother. If you hadn't brought her here, she..." the woman trailed off as she rubbed her eyes and took in a shaky breath, both Leo and Raph standing awkwardly, not sure if they should comfort the middle-aged woman or not. When the woman regained composure, she looked up with a smile, "Thank you. What are your names?"

"Leonardo."

"Raphael."

"WHAT!?" Both boys jumped back several feet as the woman threw up her hands and yelled, her mouth hanging open with a huge smile, "No. Frickin'. WAY!"

"Uh...?" Leo and Raph looked at each other in confusion. The woman pointed at herself excitedly.

"I'm Deborah!" She explained. When she only received blank stares, she continued, "You're those little japanese kids that came in forever ago! I always remembered you guys because I overheard your names, and they were so different! You bowed at me when you left!" More blank stares, "It's gotta be you! I actually named Masolin after Masolino da Panicale, after I looked up your names."

"Wow. Thats... Weird." Raph said, causing Leo to shoot him an angry glare for being rude and eliciting a laugh from Deborah.

"You think so? I took the 'O' off to make it more feminine." she said.

"No, that's not weird, its wierd that you-" Raph started, only to be cut off by Leo.

"What Raph is trying to say, is that we thought we recognized the place earlier." He explained, not wanting Raph to be rude again, "I guess we have been here before, though I don't really remember..." he trailed off as he got a strange feeling that he was missing something.

"Oh, you really don't remember?" Deborah said with slight disappointment, "Well, you were super little, and it was like, what? Fourteen-Fifteen years ago? Oh... What did you buy?" She hummed as she bit her bottom lip. She snapped herfingers as she remembered, "Thats right! You took that evil rat and got those cute little turtles!"

It hit both of them like a brick. Faces paled, they realized why they knew this place. Leo could clearly visualize the image of his father transforming into his current state, how the little turtle he now knew as his brother had mutated after being drenched in strange glowing goo. Those hauntingly familiar identical triplets. Raph, on the other hand, did not remember as much as Leo, but suddenly found himself thinking that the mahogany in Masolin and Deborah's eyes was not so coincidental anymore.

"Uh, hey?" Deborah snapped them out of their trance like state once more as she called to them worriedly, "Everything alright, boys?"

"Uh, yeah! Sorry, just remembering what you were talking about!" Leo recovered quickly, and Raph nodded when Leo's elbow found his side.

"Oh, good! So, do you still have them?" She asked with anticipation.

"What?" Leo said, slightly confused. Deborah smiled and rolled her eyes playfully.

"The turtles and the rat! Do you still have them, or...?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah. The rat died a while ago." Deborah frowned as Leo explained this, "But the, uh, turtles are doing fine."

"Oh good!" Deborah breathed out with relief, "I was worried when you didn't come back to get them a real cage, I thought you might have killed them on accident or something." Both teens flinched as the thought of accidentally killing their brothers entered their minds simultaneously, "What did you name them?"

"Donatello and Michelangelo." Raph replied automatically, causing Leo to shift his glare once more in his direction. Raph cursed himself silently for revealing more about their mutated brothers than he should have.

"Awesome! More renaissance names! Glad you stuck with it!" Deborah exclaimed with a grin. At that moment, Masolin poked her head around the door, a pout forming on her face.

"Mom, did you lose that snake you were talking about earlier?" the little girl asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Deborah asked, suspicion lacing her voice.

"Well... The macaw is eating it." Masolin explained simply. Deborah's hands went to her head immediately.

"Velociraptor! That stupid carnivore bird!" She grumbled in exasperation, she looked back at the teens quickly, "I'll let you boys go, but seriously, come back to visit anytime! Fate must have brought you here!" She laughed jokingly before rushing inside after Masolin, who grinned and waved goodbye.

Leo and Raph only stood at the entrance of the shop awkwardly, not sure how to react to what they had just encountered.

"Velociraptor is a weird name for a bird." Raph simply stated.

"Yep." Leo replied, finally moving to leave. Raph followed him as they backtracked to towards the nearest manhole. The younger boy became confused when they passed up the first one, and did not say anything until they passed three more.

"You're not heading home right away, are you?" Raph asked rhetorically. Leo shook his head and continued on, "Alright, well, I'm not taking the blame when Mikey tattles on us for being late."

"Don't you remember, Raph?" Leo asked with a smile, "If one falls, we all fall." Raph groaned in annoyance, but kept following his older brother, having a faint feeling that he knew where they were going to end up.

Soon they were upon it, just as Raphael had suspected. It was not a particularly mentionable alley. But the abandoned area brought waves of flashbacks to them both.

"It all started here." Leo whispered in awe. Raph said nothing, his eyes firmly planted on the manhole cover at the end of the alley, "To think, if we hadn't run into this alley when we had, we wouldn't have our brothers."

"Teh. Small world, ain't it?" Raph laughed, moving towards the cover. Leo smiled at him, and he smiled back, "I guess we owe those knuckleheads an apology or two."

"Yup." Leo said, moving to lift the cover of the manhole. He jerked to a sudden halt, his senses immediately on high alert. The cerulean eyed boy looked up quickly, just in time to see a shadow dart across the opening of the alley way, between the rooftops. He shoved Raphael away from him, causing the partially lifted metal cover to clatter to a close. As soon as Raph had moved, a single silvery kunai took his place in the concrete, the impact causing orange sparks to fly.

"Leo?"

"Yeah Raph."

"I think I'm getting that ominous feeling you were talking about earlier."

* * *

**Muhahaha! Cliffhanger! Sorry folks, but you'll have to wait and see whose kunai it is in chapter nine! :)**

**Oh, and I have plans for Deborah and Masolin, just you wait and see... *insert dramatic music***

**Anywho, what do you think of Masolin's name? I really wanted to stick with the era. **

**Also, sorry if this chapter was kind of boring, I tried to make it interesting, really, I did. But I'm not so sure really, and I would love your feedback.**


	9. Ninja Trouble

**Alright, sorry for the wait, but this chapter was stuck up my butt and apparently I had constipation. **

**...**

**Sorry.**

* * *

Mikey whooped and hollered as he leaped cross the gap between rooftops, basking in the twilight provided by the setting sun. The cityscape at this time in the evening was absolutely breathtaking. Shades of bright orange, purple, and pink glazed the sky, and the lights that were flickering on in the streets and in windows added a sort of magical feel to the atmosphere. At least that was how it felt to Mikey, who had never been left unattended in his life. Being free, with no older brothers or Sensei to scold or tell him what to do, was absolutely exhilarating for the turtle. Being topside while he was grounded was a plus, too, of course. But he tried not to think of his rebellion while he was in such a good mood.

"Alright." said the orange garbed ninja as he perched on a building's ledge across from his target, peering carefully at the row of windows along the fourth floor of the well-kept apartment building. Mikey looked at the business card Don had handed him before he left. It read;

_Robyn N. O'neil_

_Attorney at Law_

_Call 547-123-4567 for your free consultation._

Mikey flipped the card over, where Donnie had written the address to the apartment April's aunt currently lived in with red ink. The genius turtle had used some website to look up Robyn's home address and her relatives, which happened to be April and her father, Kirby. Don had said that besides her father, the red-head's only other relative was Robyn, so he concluded that she must be living there if not at her own apartment.

"Geesh, it's a good thing Donnie's smart." Mikey mumbled as he thought of how Raph would never have told them where the girl was living, not that they would have asked their brother anyways. No, that would just be suspicious.

Carefully reading over the address once more, Mikey verified that the building in front of him was indeed his target destination. He happily pulled out his T-phone and began hitting the keys to send his still handicapped brother a message.

**You: Found it! (:|D U wer so rite! Shuld I go in now or...?**

**Donbert: Good. And yes check in now, but dont go into the building. If u can c anything through a window that will b good enough.**

**You: :|D Cando bossman!**

**Donbert: Hurry, its 545 already!**

**"**Alright, alright! Sheesh!" Mikey replied out loud to the text, rolling his eyes. After shoving the card and cell into his belt, the turtle closed in on the building, jumping down the side of the structure he was on now and running across the street when he made sure it was clear. Once safely in an alley by the apartment, he began climbing up the fire escape, stopping once he was on the fourth floor. A door with a window lead into the building, and when Mikey peaked through the glass, he saw a long hallway with doors lining the excellently lit corridor. At the end of the hallway, a good one hundred feet away, was another door that Mikey assumed led to the main stairway.

"Screw looking through windows." Mikey said to himself with a mischievous grin, "Ding-Dong-Ditch is so much more fun.

With that statement made, the turtle opened the door slightly, running silently along the side with the doors until he reached apartment 407. Without much thought, he swiftly knocked three times, then jumped, using his arms and legs to pin himself into place above the door frame in the corner made where the wall met te ceiling. Only a few seconds passed before footsteps could be heard, and the apartment door swung open.

Mikey tried his hardest not to laugh out loud as a tall, dark red-haired woman came to the door, looking around in confusion through her icy blue eyes.

"Huh, I must be hearing things..." The woman mumbled as she began to close the door again, all the while her gaze shifting up and down the hall.

"Aunt Robyn? Was anyone there?" came a slightly familiar voice from inside.

"Nope. I thought it might be the pizza man, but I guess not..." Her voice trailed off as she shut the door and went deeper into the house. Mikey jumped down as soon as the lock clicked.

"Awright!" Mikey cheered quietly, smiling widely and grabbing his phone to text his brother. It was then that he noticed the sound of someone clearing their throat and looked up in surprise. To his right stood a scrawny looking, acne riddled, greasy blonde haired teen holding a box of pizza, staring right at him with a slightly horrified expression. Mikey's mind went into a whir as he began panicking immediately, fumbling for the words to say or what to do in his mind.

"Uh... This isn't what it looks like!" Mikey said, slapping himself mentally for saying anything at all and not just running away. But the teen did wat he least expected at the words. He smiled.

"Oh, I get it, you're an alien!" Exclaimed the kid, flashing his silvery braces as he grinned.

"Huh?" Mikey let out in confusion.

"News flash, dude! Halloween isn't for two weeks!" the delivery boy laughed, leaving the turtle with blank stare only momentarily. He quickly recovered and let out a nervous chuckle.

"Ah! Yeah, just... uh, practicing for Halloween, yup! Classic pranks, you know!" He said as he pointed a thumb at the door.

"Yep, yep, I get it!" The blonde said, nodding, "Nice costume, bro. You toats look like a real monster." Mikey tried not to flinch.

"Ah, yeah, well! Be seeing you!" Mikey waved as he made a bolt for the fire escape.

"Aight, man!" pizza boy called as Mikey made it through the door and scrambled up to the roof. He made sure to jump several buildings away before he decided to stop, not wanting to take a chance of being seen again. The ninja took in several deep breaths before looking at the phone still clutched tight in his hands. He shakily began typing.

**You: (:|D Mission complete capn!**

**Donbert: Wow. That was quick. Was any1 home besides her?**

**You: The ant lady was. |:|/**

**Donbert: K, thats fine. Whats ur ETA?**

Mikey stared at the acronym for several seconds before another text came through.

**Donbert: Estimated Time of Arrival**

**You: Oh! I thot it ment eat that ant. that wuld b messed up tho. lol (:|D**

**Donbert: Just tell me what time ur gonna be back.**

Mikey laughed as he started texting back, but stopped halfway through as a chill went down his spine. His mind flashed back to a few days ago, when Leo stopped them all for no apparent reason, and had a feeling he understood what his oldest brother was talking about. He could feel eyes on him. The ninja's senses were immediately on full alert, and his three-fingered hands went down to the kusarigama as his waist.

"Hello?" Mikey called out, squinting his crystal blue eyes against the dark. A dark presence could be felt, sending cold shivers throughout his body once again. Something was not right. Instinctively, the turtle began to move, stretching his senses to try to pick up on the location what or who he was feeling, "Kraang bots? Or another freaky mutant?" he mumbled his thoughts out loud as he jumped onto the roof of another building.

He continued to run for another ten or so minutes, still feeling as though he was being followed. Leo's voice popped into his mind, telling him not to lead whatever it was back to the lair. Or wait? It sounded a lot to Mikey like Leo's voice was not coming just from his imagination.

"Don't you remember, Raph? If one falls, we all fall." came the all to familiar voice from below. Mikey did not have to look down into the street to know his brothers were walking right by him. Mikey slowed immediately, erasing his presence so that his hyper-intuitive older siblings would not pick up on him.

"Stupid turtle's luck. Maybe Raph was right, we are unlucky." the orange banded turtle mumbled almost inaudibly as he hid behind a gargoyle that was perched on top of the building he was on. He had the intention to race in the other direction of his brothers and head home, but as they turned into the empty, hauntingly familiar alley below, Mikey knew he would have no chance of beating them home. The youngest brother was so caught up in his rising panic, he almost missed seeing the black shadow of a figure from the next building across.

Mikey stared at the person, obviously in shinobi garb, bug like goggles over his black mask and a thin piece of red fabric around his forehead, its tails draped over his shoulder. While Mikey stared at the ninja across from him, the ninja stared at his brothers. The turtle could only watch in shock as the ninja of unknown origin slowly drew a silver kunai from seemingly nowhere, then jumped expertly towards him, throwing the blade hurtling down at Raphael. Mikey wanted to yell out and warn his brother of the deadly weapon coming straight for his skull, but the wind was knocked out of him as the ninja landed on his chest and shoved him to the ground.

Fear gripped Michelangelo as the ninja drew his weapon, a single katana, and raised it high.

_No. No. No. No! No! NO! Did he just kill Raph? Oh God he's going to kill me! What if Leo comes up here and finds out I came up here? I'm dead even if I live! What do I do? _ The thoughts rushed into Mikey's mind, only taking milliseconds to process in his already quick paced thinking as he watched the metal of the sword glinting in the brightening moonlight. _I need to move. Move. MOVE!_

In between the instant the mystery ninja raised his sword and started bringing it down, Mikey's whole demeanor changed from being frozen in confusion and terror, to numb and robotic. His body loosened as he instinctively twisted himself from under the man's feet, sending the ninja sprawling sideways. Mikey's thoughts faded out as adrenaline pumped through his veins, making his movements seem random as he slammed against the ninja. He raised his kusarigama the moment the enemy fell over, bringing it down with crack to the side of his head. Before Mikey could realize what he had just done, chains caught his legs and made him fall forwards onto his hands.

Twisting around, Mikey came face to face with six other identically dressed ninja as the one he just took down. The instinctive fight in his system had not yet been fully released, and Mikey let out an otherworldly snarl that put obvious hesitation into the offenders steps. The turtle did not let that moment pass him up, and grabbed the chain that was used to trip him, yanking it from one of the ninja's hands. Rolling quickly, Mikey tumbled off of the building, swinging the chain as he went. He managed to hook it around one of the gargoyles protruding from the building and swing himself down to the ground below without much trouble. As soon as his feet hit the pavement, Mikey bolted.

He ran for the nearest manhole, not bothering to see if any of the strange ninja were following him, and ducked under the lid quickly. Rancid water splashed onto his legs as he clumsily tripped once the adrenaline began wearing off, and a slight pain shot up his right leg where the chain had caught him, but he continued to run. The sewer tunnels passed by into a blur as they changed to subway tunnels, but it was all the same to the ninja, who felt as if he could still sense those ice like stares given to him from the darkness.

Mikey did not stop even once on the twenty-minute path back to the lair until he saw the turnstiles and burst through them.

"Mikey!" Donnie yelped with apparent concern in his voice. The taller turtle limped hurriedly over to his panting brother, still relying slightly on his staff for support. Don placed a gentle hand on to his brother's arm and led him to the lab.

"I-I think I..." Mikey started stammering as Don sat him down and began inspecting his leg, which the younger turtle still had not noticed was bruising, "Don I think I k-killed someone." There was a hitch in Donatello's movement, but he continued on with his work, never once looking up at Mikey. The orange wearing turtle gulped hard, tears burning at the rims of his eyes.

"Looks fine. No muscle damage, just some severe bruising that will heal with a little time." Don said in a detached tone, standing up straight. Mikey looked up at his older brother, confusion and fear alight in his eyes, but Donnie would not make eye contact.

"What happened, Mikey?" Don asked finally.

"I, uh, felt something weird; like "I'm being watched" kind of weird." Mikey started explaining immediately, "Then I started running, but then Leo and Raph were the and-"

"Woah! Hold up! Leo and Raph saw you?" Don interrupted, causing Mikey to shoot him an angry look.

"No! At least, I don't think so." Mikey retorted, "Anyways, it's not the point, there were other ninjas there! They attacked Raph and started fighting me!" The older turtle's eyes widened significantly, "That's how I got this bruise, and... And..."

"And what?" Don asked softly, now looking directly into Mikey's saddened eyes.

"Something took over when I fought the first guy. It was like... I wasn't myself." Mikey said, now taking his turn to avert his eyes, "I hit him pretty hard. But I didn't mean to!"

"Shh! I know, its okay Mikey!" Don told his increasingly distressed brother as he laid a hand on his shoulder, "Where exactly did you hit him?"

"Uh, I'm not so sure, but I think right about here?" Mikey said, pointing to a spot on his head. Donnie smiled.

"That's the thickest part of the skull, the guy will be fine, Mike. You did good." Don assured him. Mikey's blue eyes instantly lit up with relief.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course!"

Donnie chuckled and pat his brother on the head. Just then clattering could be heard from outside of the room, causing both boys to jump slightly. The purple masked turtle turned sharply to his younger.

"You got that bruise from me, kay? I hit you with my naginata while you were picking on me." Don told Mikey, who tilted his head in confusion. The older turtle sighed with exasperation, "Its our alibi. An excuse. Don't let them know you were out, or that you fought another ninja."

"But, don't you think that's kind of important to let them know about that?" Mikey asked.

"Something tells me they already know." Don said as he hummed thoughtfully and head for the door, Mikey following closely. Sure enough, Leo and Raph were at the pit, looking pained and tired as they slumped down onto the couch. The edgy and frightened attitude of the turtle's instantly changed to concern and worry once they saw the state their brothers were in.

"What the SHELL happened!?" Don yelled out as he rushed as fast as he could to their sides. Both boys had bruises up and down their arms, Raphael a very prominent one across his left cheek, and a deep cut along his right calf.

"Someone had a helluva right hook, that's what happened." the brunette growled angrily. Leo sighed tiredly as he shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

"We took a little detour and ran into some trouble." The eldest boy explained. Donatello's worried expression faltered terribly and a cold, hard one took its place.

"What kind of trouble?" the purple banded turtle asked in monotone, causing the three remaining brothers to give each other confused glances at the sudden change in behavior.

"Ninja trouble." Leo said simply as he quickly recovered from his confusion, holding out a red strip of cloth in his hand that the others had not noticed he was holding. Don took it immediately, stretching it out and looking it over with scrutiny.

"A foot?" Donatello remarked in confusion as he noticed the tiny black symbol sewed into the headband. Leo nodded.

"You think you could look it up and see if it belongs to any gang or dojo? This could mean big trouble if they are related to those robot-alien things." Leo asked, "It needs to be taken care of immediately." At the last sentence, Don once again tensed up, crumpling the cloth in his hands and standing up rigidly. Raph scoffed at this stiff display.

"Why are you asking him?" the green-eyed teen huffed indifferently, crossing his arms, "This is the first time he's talked to us since we fought. And its only because we're hurt."

"Raph!" Leo scolded, giving his younger brother a look that neither of the turtles could understand the reason for, but Raph seemed to know and looked at the ground immediately, as if suddenly ashamed.

"I recommend asking Splinter first." Don said, seemingly ignoring Raphael's words completely, "If you really ran into ninjas, then he would know if this symbol belongs to a certain clan or not." Leo opened his mouth to say something, but Don quickly turned from them, "I'll analyze it anyways. Raph, I'm gonna get some gauze and antiseptic for your cut. I would put an ice pack or the bag of frozen peas on that bruise on your face."

Then he was gone, the lab sucking him up in an instant. Raph fidgeted awkwardly as silence took over the room, and Mikey sighed loudly.

"Why are you so quiet?" Raph asked irritatedly just to break up the quiet, "You'd normally be all over this kind of thing." Mikey winced slightly and twiddled his fingers nervously.

"Oh, uh... Just thinking is all." Mikey explained, looking up at his big brother. Leo and Raph stared at him without a word, making him more nervous, "W-what?"

"You were thinking?" Raph said rudely, pointing a finger in Mikey's direction. The turtle huffed indignantly.

"Hey, underneath this beautiful, handsome body is a soft heart. Don't hate, bro." Mikey said while narrowing his eyes. Raph laughed loudly and gave his youngest brother a smile.

"That's more like the Mikey I know." He chuckled, then turned put on a slightly softer expression, "Whats up, Mike? You worried about us or somethin'?"

"No!" Mikey protested, " Well, maybe. I was just thinking about how Leo said it was dangerous to go out right now."

"Of course it is." the eldest boy interjected, "Robots, mutants, monsters, and now mysterious ninjas? I'd say things are looking pretty bad up top right now." Leo concluded with a nod. Mikey fidgeted nervously, looking back down at the floor. Leo gave him a worried look and reached out in concern, but the young turtle stood up straight suddenly.

"I'm gonna go clean my room!" Mikey blurted out as he ran off towards his bedroom. Both of the older boys shared a shocked glance.

"Since when does Mikey clean anything?" Raph asked, eliciting a shrug from Leo.

Mikey shut the door behind him and flopped onto his bed, sighing loudly as he looked up at the ceiling. He stared at the pizza slice stuck there from a failed prank involving super glue, hot sauce, and Raph, wondering how such a thing could feel like it happened so long ago. So much had happened in the past few weeks, that it seemed the 'normal' days were years ago. Mikey let out a deep breath once more and flipped over onto his plastron. He buried his face into his pillow, laying there for a few seconds before sitting up on his elbows and pulling out his T-phone to distract himself from his thoughts with games.

He was surprised to see six unread messages in his inbox, and clicked them open. All of them were from Donatello, within the span of the forty minutes he had not replied.

**Donbert: Hello? R u on ur way home or not?**

**Donbert: Everything ok?**

**Donbert: If ur playing, I'm not laughing.**

**Donbert: Seriously, is everything alright?**

**Donbert: Mikey?**

The last message was sent exactly fifteen minutes after the last one.

**Donbert: First rule as a ninja; Come home safe.**

Mikey groaned as he clicked his phone shut, laying it on his cluttered side table. He buried his face into the pillow once again, this time not bothering to bring it back up as he slumped against his bed.

"Stupid brothers." He muttered into the cotton depths, though his words lacked the anger they implied, "Can't they just worry about themselves for once?"


End file.
